The Lawful Gamer
by Noble the Unknown Primordial
Summary: Raphael had died, and he knew this because it wasn't the endless abyss he was in, no, it was the bold words saying 'YOU DIED' in front of him. Meeting an overly cheerful goddess, receiving the powers of the Gamer, and being sent to a whole new world isn't entirely all that bad. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to conquer said world, but still, could be fun.
1. Prologue

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

 **This story will not be like the Traversing Gamer in some aspects, I will not respond to reviews through newly-posted chapters, nor will I be doing _Previously on The (Insert Name Here) Gamer_ , or any sneak peaks. **

* * *

**(Original Earth - United States of America - California - Los Angeles)  
(Third Person POV - April 19th, 2022)**

" _We have a Code 42 in progress at South Vermont Avenue in the Westmont area, multiples suspects involved, officers on site._ " LAPD Dispatch reported over the police scanners. " _Code 10-00, man down, Code 11 enacted, SWAT en route._ "

Sergeant _Raphael D'Angelo_ of Los Angeles Police Department's local Special Weapons and Tactics, one of the more younger members of his team, slammed a round containing 5.56mm into his Sig Sauer 556 modified with a MAKO Foregrip Bipod, an ACOG sight, and the Giles Tactical Sling. The twenty-five year old man patted the Kimber TLE/RL 1911 holstered at his hip, checking over the various tactical grenades across his tactical belt, along with the the extra rounds of ammunition in multiple pockets across his Kevlar vest that had ' _SWAT_ ' emblazoned across the back upper part of his vest. He had two hundred extra 5.56 rounds for his Sig Sauer in ten magazines, and forty-nine .45 ACP rounds in seven magazines, two flash bangs and one tear gas grenade hanging off his belt. Clad in the usual black-themed color of SWAT, he finished looking over his standard equipment.

He looked up at the mirror of his locker, and the face of a raven-haired man with spiked up hair with undercut sides with a small cut going down his right green-eye, fortunately not harming the eye itself, and the man was clearly of Filipino descent considering the light brown skin tone.

"Oi! D'Angelo, quit admiring yourself and let's go!" Raphael's teammate, Simmons called out to him in annoyance. "Get yer fucking balaclava on as well you twit! Those civvies aren't going to save themselves!"

"Right! I'm coming!" Raphael responded, and grabbed his fire-retardant balaclava, covering his entire head aside from his eyes that was resolved by the tactical goggles that he equipped soon after.

Jogging out the locker room with his weapon down, safety on of course, he met the rest of his team in the ARV (Armored Rescue Vehicle), each of them clad in the standard-issue police equipment for Special Weapons and Tactics. Raphael closed the door behind him, bringing up the small set of stairs as well, and sat down in the already-cramped transport with the four other SWAT members of his team. Team Leader Hennighan looked at him curiously.

"Where's your helmet D'Angelo?" He asked, with a tinge of exasperation to his voice. "Did you leave it behind?"

"Uh, shit." Raphael muttered to himself before turning back to his CO. "Yes?"

He sighed, "It's too late to go back for it now, you're stuck without head protection this time Sergeant, ARV's already moving."

"Ugh, you done fucked up this time D'Angelo. Probably going to get yerself killed." Simmons muttered to himself, shaking his head.

"Hey now, go easy on the guy." Kia, the team's resident sniper and only female chastised them. "Besides, you probably rushed him Simmons."

"Well he was taking he sweet time in the lockers and we had hostages to save!" He snarked back. "I have a family to go home to Kia, you know this! I don't want my kids to be without a father because of this fucking dumbshi-!"

"ENOUGH!" Hennighan barked, clearly fed-up with the arguing. "D'Angelo is still recovering from the death of his parents, show some fucking respect Simmons." He went silent after that, and Raphael shuffled nervously. "Sorry about him D'Angelo, Simmons can be a little mild-tempered, and I know that working with your guns isn't helping that much with your recovery."

Kia scoffed, "Mild-tempered? Right."

"Kia..." Hennighan warned her.

"Sorry Captain." Kia replied, not the least bit sorry at all.

"It's alright Captain, I'm sure Simmons meant nothing by it." Raphael told him. "It's my fault anyways, I shouldn't have spent too long equipping my gear."

Before Hennighan could speak, he was cut-off by their ARV's driver. " _We're nearing South Vermont Avenue, prepare for combat, I'm hearing a lot of scanner chatter and gunfire._ " They all had their expressions turn stone-faced, adopting the expected persona of a professional Special Weapons and Tactics officer.

"Cut the talk, lock and load." Hennighan told them, cocking his Benelli M4 slung over his shoulder.

Kia cocked back the bolt on her M24, inspecting her equipment and examined a rangefinder, Simmons tilted his Heckler & Koch UMP45 with a vertical grip in-front of him and checked the magazine. The last and the most silent of the team, Hector, merely held his Heckler & Koch MP5 across his chest. Raphael himself looked through the ACOG sight of his Sig Sauer 556, making sure that it properly worked as he aimed down the sights.

" _We're here! Go! Go! Go!_ " The ARV's driver said, and Raphael unlocked the door and kicked down the steps, rushing out into a firefight.

LAPD officers and heavily-armed suspects exchanged gunfire, the latter taking cover inside a Bank of America whilst the former was spread out across the street taking cover behind several police cruisers riddled with bullets. Two officers were already incapacitated, one was not moving as a pool of blood gathered underneath him, while the other rolled around on the asphalt ground moaning in pain as he clutched his arm that was holding on by a few tendons. Any move made by the officers behind cover to retrieve their two comrades downed were met by a volley of bullets from inside the bank, automatic weapons fire in particular.

"Kia, set-up shop on that store over there!" Hennighan barked out orders over the gunfire, "Hector, D'Angelo, provide covering fire for us while we retrieve the wounded!"

"Affirmative!" They replied in unison.

With Raphael having the only weapon capable of being actually accurate at range aside from Kia in the group, he aimed down his sights as he brought his rifle to bare, Hector imitating him as they took cover behind their ARV. Raphael held his breath as he lined up his sights with a gunman peaking from his cover, said gunman had an Uzi in his hands, emptying his clip into a parked cruiser.

 _Inhale_...

Raphael aimed at the man's head, steeling his features.

 _Exhale_...

He took the shot, 5.56mm rounds came out of the Sig Sauer in a three-round burst, and the gunman's head jerked back as the three rifle rounds slammed into his head and splattered the ground behind him in his brain matter, his body collapsing soon thereafter. Raphael then switched to semi-automatic and then began firing on anymore gunmen that came out of cover, no care for accuracy as long as they stayed pinned behind cover, Simmons and Hennighan dragged back the officer with the debilitated arm barely hanging on by a thread.

"We're making another run! Don't let up!" Hennighan called back to them, allowing for his fellow officers to take care of their wounded. "Simmons, stay here and provide covering fire as well, I can get him alone."

"Aye Cap'n, I'll cover ye." Simmons told him as he joined the rest of the LAPD forces behind cover.

Hennighan moved forward as LAPD forces and gunmen exchanged gunfire, he waded through the storm of bullets and the occasional one that nicked him until he came upon the officer that wasn't moving, the pool of blood underneath him had doubled in size where Hennighan saw the full effects of the damage. The officer had two holes seeping blood from his chest while another one was located in his abdomen, it was most likely that he was dead by now. However, Hennighan lifted him up regardless, and began to carry the man back to cover as a gunman called him out, spraying his position in inaccurate gunfire.

However, with Hennighan carrying heavy gear added with the body of a man, accuracy wouldn't count as he soon found out when a stray bullet took him by his knee, likely fracturing it as he gasped and scrunched up his face in pain behind his balaclava.

"Shit!" Raphael shouted, ducking behind cover as a volley of bullets slammed into the concrete next to him. "Team Leader's hit! Keep up that covering fire!"

"What'dya think I'm doing dipshit!" Simmons yelled at him over the firefight, just as the officer next to him had his body riddled with bullets. "Fuck! Dispatch, Code 10-00, officer down!"

Raphael peaked out of cover as three gunmen stood out with an Uzi for each of them, and all clearly saw the downed SWAT officer carrying another one of their victims, and they all obviously took the chance to finish them both off.

"Simmons! They're about to shoot Hennighan! Light them up god-fucking-dammit!" Raphael shouted at Simmons. "Get your ass in-!" Hector tapped him on the shoulder. "What is it Hector- Oh fuck!." His fellow SWAT member had three visible bullet holes in his Kevlar vest, and one arm held his other that had blood streaming out of it, his MP5 hanging limply at his side.

"Dispatch, Code 10-52, ambulance requested." Raphael reported in with all the composure he could muster as he grabbed hold of Hector from under his arm.

" _Copy, ambulance en route_."

"Lay down Hector, help is on the way, you just need to hold out for a bit longer." Raphael told him, sitting him down against the ARV. "Kia! Where's our sniper support?!" No response. "Kia? Report in." Static.

"Simmons, can you call Kia?!" He called over to him. "I'm not getting any response from her!"

"Let me try then! Ye probably fucked over yer comms!" Simmons called back, before a bullet whizzed past his head. "Fuck me! Was that a sniper?!"

"What?! A sniper?!" Raphael said, before a dreadful realization came over him. "Kia...Sniper...Dammit!" He turned towards Hennighan, whom was struggling to get back to cover as bullets whizzed past him in increasing amounts. "Get out of there!" He shouted, but he was far too late...

"I'm tryi-!" Hennighan was cut off as another sniper round sounded off, and came straight for him, it slammed past his ballistic helmet, directly into the cerebral cortex, his head jerking to the side as he dropped the body of the downed officer.

"No-NO!" Raphael lost all sense of composure as he saw his team leader take a bullet to the head, no longer among the living. "Simmons! You and I-!" A bullet bounced off the side of the his cover of the ARV. "Are the only ones left! Hennighan is fucking-dead, Kia is probably dead, and Hector is severely wounded! We need to end this now!"

"I fucking hear-ye! Stop yelling in me ear!" Simmons shouted, spraying his gun over cover. "What'dye propose we do then?!"

"Have the officers here deal with them for the time being! We'll circle around the back and take them down!" Raphael informed him of his plan, "Another SWAT team should've gone around back and ambushed them but dispatch lost contact with them."

"We better not die from this or I'll haunt yer arse fer all eternity!" Simmons yelled at him.

Raphael and Simmons moved from cover as LAPD officers and the gunmen stopped exchanging gunfire for a brief moment, running in a slight hunched position with their guns aimed forward. Raphael came upon a steel door that was blown inwards, bullet casings scattered across the ground with some splatters of blood on the concrete, Simmons took point considering his UMP45 was always meant for CQC.

Passing through the door-frame, Simmons and Raphael came upon a horrifying sight. The five-man SWAT team that was supposed to take the gunmen from behind were all dead, their bodies looking as if though torn apart. The matte black-clad SWAT officers had either lost an arm or a leg, with one losing both as the room had blood splattered all-over its walls, pools of blood were here and there, but most concerning was that their weapons were missing.

"Oh god-Hrk!" Raphael said as he heaved, the overwhelming smell of blood and gunpowder invaded his nostrils through the balaclava. "H-How the fuck did they do this?!"

Simmons was coping his own way... By vomiting all over the ground as he had his hand hold down his balaclava. "C-Christ, we need to end em' now!"

"I-I read you, let's go after I radio this in." Raphael told him, trying to regain his bearings. "Dispatch, Code 10-00, multiple officers down."

" _Copy, continue with the mission._ "

"I swear, they never care about the people in the field." Raphael told the recovered-Simmons. "Let's go, every second we waste here, another LAPD officer gets shot at."

With that, Raphael and Simmons moved towards the only door in the room, possibly leading to the entrance as they took both sides of the door. Raphael nodded to Simmons and the latter side-stepped in-front of the door and brought his boot down on the door, charging in with Raphael following after him. Raphael came upon a moderately-sized room, the glass doors having half a dozen gunmen taking cover next to them with two more standing near the hostages and two dead and bleeding near the hostages. Before Raphael could continue his viewing of the bank, a gunman noticed their presence and alerted his comrades.

"It's the cops!" He shouted before receiving a chest-full of lead from Simmon's UMP45, dropping his bloodied corpse like a fly.

Simmons and Raphael took to cover as three gunmen fired at them with Uzis' and Glock 45s' that peppered the ground in holes. Simmons took to the nearest cover, a wooden desk, while Raphael took cover behind a flipped-over table. Of course, with enough concentrated fire, the wooden table that Simmons took cover behind was torn apart and a dozen bullets slammed into his back, his Kevlar vest not being made to handle more than a few impacts left him moaning in pain on the floor as his UMP45 clattered to the ground.

"Simmons!" Raphael despaired, he was left alone against seven armed individuals.

"Give it up pig! If you surrender we'll make your death quick! Like your buddies back there!" One of the gunmen shouted, causing Raphael to grip his Sig Sauer 556 harder, and grabbed one of his flash bangs and tore off the pin.

"Fuck you!" He shouted at them, and threw it over his head.

One loud bang later, the gunmen were left partially-blind and deaf as they moaned in agony, one of them began stupidly spraying his weapon wildly around him in a wide arc in-front of him, killing one of his comrades in his spray. Raphael took this chance to peak out of cover and take semi-automatic shots at each of them, although he couldn't remain his cool at being the only physically stable of his teammates so many of his shots were far off from their intended target.

Out of the twenty rounds in his rifle only six hit their intended targets, killing one and injuring two of the seven gunmen whilst they were disoriented. He dropped the emptied magazine from his rifle and drew one from his vest and rammed it in, only emptying half of his clip before ducking behind cover as the gunmen recovered, but not before killing two of the gunmen, leaving behind four of them as the hostages screamed in fear at the gunfire.

Raphael huddled behind the metal table as it shook from being riddled with bullets, the gunmen clearly learned their lesson as they took turns firing as their compatriots reloaded, their ammo however, was not infinite and it was soon learned when the audible click of their guns came.

"Shit! I'm outta ammo!" One of them yelled in despair, slamming his hand into the Uzi as if it would fix it.

Raphael stood up, rifle raised at them. "Drop the weapons now!" He ordered, mustering all the authority he could into his voice.

"Fuck you!" One of them shouted at him, and threw his Uzi at Raphael, which he tilted his body to the side to avoid it, which one of the gunmen used the small amount of time to pull out a pistol from his back and his compatriots surged forward in a display that other normal armed gangsters and/or robbers wouldn't do.

"Stop! Now! Or I will be forced to shoot!" Raphael ordered, but they didn't comply. "Last warning!"

Raphael fired upon them as they didn't listen to his warnings, killing each of them in a single-round burst, their bodies dropping to the ground with bullet holes in their chests and Raphael spun towards the one armed with a pistol. However, the gunman had picked up Simmons - whom was unconscious from the pain - and held the barrel to his head with his other arm wrapped around the unconscious SWAT officer's head.

"Drop your fucking weapons pig, or your buddy here is dead!" He commanded, pressing the barrel against Simmons' head.

Raphael was torn between on calling his bluff or dropping his weapon, but considering the fact that several officers and his teammates were either dead or wounded, he knew that the gunman wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in his head should he not comply. There was also the fact that Simmons had a family, kids even, and with him saying that Raphael would get him killed on this operation coming to fruition, he slowly lowered his weapon and laid it on the floor precariously in fear of leaving behind a widow and two fatherless kids.

"Good," The gunman sneered, before suddenly pulling the trigger, the round burrowing past Simmons' helmet at point-blank speed, killing him. "You fool."

"NO!" Raphael shouted, and made to draw his 1911 from its holster, however, he was too slow as the gunman pointed his pistol at him, before pulling the trigger.

Raphael jerked back as the round slammed into his Kevlar vest, the impact knocking the air out of him as he staggered backwards and fell onto the marble ground where he was left gasping in pain. The remaining gunman slowly walked up to him, his steps echoing out to Raphael as he laid staring at the ceiling, his vision becoming blurred as he could barely make out the form of the gunman from the corner of his eyes. He felt the grip of his rifle next to him as his hands made to reach for anything in a desperate move for survival, and before he could lift it, the gunman spoke.

" _You should've never interfered_." He heard him say in an echo, before a pistol round slammed into his forehead, his vision going dark as he died.

On the nineteenth of April, twenty-twenty-two, an attempted heist by nine armed individuals and one suspected gunman at the Bank of America on South Vermont Avenue led to the deaths of nine SWAT officers and a dozen police officers before they were finally subdued when SWAT officers Raphael D'Angelo and Leon Simmons assaulted them, sacrificing their lives to kill all but one of the gunmen when LAPD officers rushed into the bank, killing the remaining gunman.

* * *

 **(The Endless Abyss/Void - Unknown)  
** **(Third Person POV)**

Raphael's eyes snapped open in a panic as he felt the fading pain of being shot in the head - which was an interesting sensation to say the least - and looked around him, his body floating in nothingness as all he could see was white endlessly. He was still clad in the matte-black SWAT uniform along with his weapon, although the bullet from the gunman's pistol was still present in his Kevlar vest, the one in his head was completely gone and the balaclava's fabric was mended.

However, other than that and the endless void that was probably his afterlife, there was a text-box in-front of him with only two words present.

" _You died?_ " **[YOU DIED]** he read to himself. "Heh... This has to be a cruel joke, right?" He said, although he knew no answer was coming for him he still desperately clung onto whatever little hope he had left.

"N-ope!" A voice said to his left, and his head snapped towards it and came face-to-face with a drop-dead gorgeous brunette.

"W-Who are you?" He asked, blushing behind his balaclava at the woman's goddess-like features. "A-Are you a goddess?"

She laughed, a sound so musical to his ears. "No-no, well actually, yes I am. I'm one of Gaia's Chosen, a Gamer to be precise and I've got some immortal blood running through these veins! The name's Sera Alyssos!" She said cheerily, there was no mistaking that the woman was certainly bubbly and full of happiness.

"Where am I?" He continued his questioning, as far as he knew, the woman could possibly only be there temporarily and possibly his only contact with another sentient being.

"Well, you're in the Void. The place all potential Gamers go to after their original life is over, basically after their deaths and you certainly had an interesting death compared to the usual ones like car accidents, heart attacks, or some plain old way to die." She told him, sounding a bit mellow at the list bit. "I mean, not many potential-Gamers die in battle, and that's only a plus of having actual combat experience when you're given the ability, cause most Gamers were once civilians!"

"A... 'Gamer?'" He asked, ignoring that his death was disregarded so carelessly.

"Ye-p! A Gamer, y'know, one of those RPG mechanic game things, where your character has stats and an inventory and all that stuff?"

"I-I believe I know what you're talking about." Raphael shifted uneasily. "You're saying that I'm going to become an... RPG character?"

"Yes I am~!" She said. "And the notification should come right about... now!"

 **[You've been chosen to become one of Gaia's Chosen - A Gamer!]  
** **[Do you wish to accept?]  
** **[Y/N]**

"I-uh, what do I do?" He said, confused as he turned towards Sera.

"Well Mister D'Angelo, if you want to become an all-powerful being then click on the Y!" She told him in her bubbly personality before turning somber at the next words. "If you just want to go back to Earth and its regular-old afterlife then click N."

Raphael turned back back to the notification box, he didn't miss the somber tone of Sera when mentioning of declining the offer in-front of him, and the sound of becoming an all-powerful being instead of going to whatever afterlife awaits him on Earth _does_ sound intriguing. Nonetheless, he was inclined to click **[Y]** and did so, and the notification disappeared and a new, bigger one appeared before him and Sera exclaimed from beside him.

"Yay! You're a Gamer now like me!" Sera cheered happily, doing a small jump and he chuckled at the childish act done by a 'goddess'. "Now, read over that new notification box, it's your stats!"

 **Name: Raphael D'Angelo  
Race: Human  
Class: SWAT Officer (+10 STR, +10 VIT)  
Age: 25 (LOCKED)  
**

 **Level: 14 (EXP: 0/28,000)**

 **Title: Gun Nut - Due to your almost extreme addiction to firearms, many of your friends and comrades have given you the nickname of 'Gun Nut' because of your almost-unhealthy obsession with them! +5 Levels to** **Firearms Mastery**

 **Title: Gamer (NEW) - You're one of Gaia's Chosen, one of her Gamers brought from the original Earth to serve her! +(Gamer's Mind), (Gamer's Body), (Observation)**

 **HP (Health Points): 9,900/9,900 (2,300 HP regeneration per minute)  
MP (Mana Points): 3,750/3,750 (2,700 MP regeneration per minute)  
**

 **STR (Strength): 24 (24+10=34)  
** **VIT (Vitality): 23 (23+10=33)** **(300 HP per point, 100 HP regeneration per point)  
** **AGI (Agility): 17  
** **INT (Intelligence): 25** **(150 MP per point)  
** **WIS (Wisdom): 27** **(100 MP regeneration per point)  
** **CHR (Charisma): 19  
** **LUC (Luck): 7  
** **Skill Points: 70**

 **Currency: $5,000**

 **Description: Raphael D'Angelo was the son to two loving parents, being the eldest among his siblings but the most detached as he served in the United States military before becoming a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) in Los Angeles, where his parents died when he was at the age of twenty-two. Back on Earth, he had no girlfriend or wife to speak of, and was the only single among the three D'Angelo siblings. His cause of death was bullet to the head where he and his fellow SWAT team members fell one by one to gunmen in a supposed 'robbery'. Now, he's a Gamer, one of Gaia's Chosen, capable of traveling the multiverse as ageless beings!**

"Wow!" Sera whistled, impressed. "Nice stats! I also recommend saving those points, you can earn some of those stats naturally through actual work."

"So... What now?" He asked her.

"Now, we continue your tutorial!" She replied. "Think of the word 'Inventory' and it'll show up!"

 **[Inventory]** , he thought to himself and his stats were replaced by a grid-box holding only two items in it. One being his Sig Sauer 556, and another looked like a present box, neatly wrapped and had a little knot-tie on-top to finish it. He cautiously reached forward and grabbed both as his hands disappeared into the 2D screen, and re-appeared with two different objects in both hands.

"There's your standard-issue Legendary Gift Box, and apparently, one of your weapons from Earth! That's lucky of you since most new Gamers only come with what they have on their person." She told him, "Now, open the box for a high chance at a Legendary weapon or a large sum of money!"

 **[Do you wish to open 'Legendary Gift Box'?]  
[Y/N]**

Pressing on **[Y]** , a new item formed in his hands, weighing down on his arms.

 **[Crowd Control]  
** **[Rank: AA]  
** **[Grade: Legendary]  
** **[Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000]  
[Description: Crowd Control is a riot shield covering the whole body when placed in-front of a being, regardless of race or size it will adjust itself to match up to height and width, it's a completely defensive weapon meant to deal with individuals or large groups. Instead of the usual steel made riot shield, this one is made of Adamantium, enhanced and enchanted to be three times stronger, and will break Uncommon weapons and below once struck by said item. The small see-through glass at the top is one-way and tinted along with a powerful enough material to withstand railgun attacks and area lockdowns.]**

 **[Effects]:  
Riot Shield Lockdown (+200 Defense Behind Cover)  
Super Shield Bash (+500 Physical Damage)  
Adaptability  
Flash Out! (The front of Crowd Control lets loose a flash bang-like sound and flash to disorient enemies in-front of it)**

"Interesting, looks like you got a defensive weapon!" Sera said, examining the shield with a critical eye. "Could probably stand-up to a few weapons of my own even..." She muttered to herself. "Anyhow, let's continue your tutorial! Please think of the word 'Skills' and it'll show your passive and active abilities that you probably just received now and ones from your past life."

 **[Skills]** , he mentally thought once more, and another box appeared in-front of him, replacing his inventory.

 **(Gamer's Mind) (Passive) (Level: MAX)**

 **Description: Gamer's Mind allows for a peaceful state of mind, allowing the user to remain calm in the face of scenes that would make the most hardened of warriors flinch and shy away at. This skill will make you resistant to all forms of mental attacks and effects, telepathy, mind control, concussions, hangovers, you name it and Gamer's Mind is resistant to it. However, beings such as Gaia can override such a skill as it was originally her creation, so be wary of certain deities that control universes.  
**

 **Effects:  
Strong Will (The Power to Overcome Anything)  
Mental Barrier (Resistant to All Mental Attacks)  
Universal Translator (All Known Languages Two-Way)**

 **(Gamer's Body) (Passive) (Level: MAX)**

 **Description: Gamer's Body allows for your physical form to live the life of an RPG character along with its added benefits of being one. For example, sleeping in a bed will dispel all negative status effects, such as losing arm that will regrow upon resting, severe poisoning can be solved just as easily with a nap. Pain on the other hand, is something you will still feel, even if its slightly suppressed by Gamer's Mind.**

 **Effects:  
RPG Character (Self-Explanatory)**

 **(Observe) (Active/Passive) (Level: MAX)**

 **Description: Observe allows for you to see the statistics for another person, object, or anything really when active. However, only name, level, and titles are seen when the ability is in passive mode. Beings a hundred levels higher than yourself will appear as a (?) for their level, beings five hundred levels than yourself will be marked as (?-?) and beings a thousand levels higher than you will be placed at (?-?-?), any higher than that and they'll be marked as (X) for you will die should you fight them.**

 **Effects:  
Observation (Statistics of Target)  
**

 **(Firearms Mastery) (Passive) (Level: 34/50)** **  
**

 **Description: Firearms Mastery represents your skills over guns of any type, be they ballistic, laser, plasma, or other. The higher level Firearms Mastery is the more accurate you will become when firing guns, should be noted that other forms of projectile weapon DO NOT count.**

 **Effects:  
+68% Accuracy  
+68% Range  
+68% Firing Speed**

 **(Blunt Weapons Mastery) (Passive) (Level: 33/50)  
**

 **Description: Blunt Weapons Mastery represents your skill over weapons that require close quarters engagements, such weapons would be clubs, batons, and various other weapons meant to inflict blunt trauma damage upon the target. Leveling up this skill would increase it attack speed along with reaction speed when wielding a blunt weapon, bladed weapons and other types of weapons not of this one DO NOT count.**

 **Effects:  
+66% Attack Speed  
+66% Reaction Speed**

 **(Krav Maga) (Active/Passive) (Level: 44/50)  
**

 **Description: Krav Maga is one of the many fighting styles in the world of Earth, one that hasn't been forgotten just yet, and this one originates from Israel's military self-defense system. Krav Maga is a combination of various fighting techniques such as Boxing, Wrestling, Jujitsu, Aikido, Judo, along with realistic fight training. Krav Maga is meant for quick-counterattacks and brutal offensive techniques recommended to both military and police forces.**

 **Effects:  
+176% Attack Speed  
+88% Reaction Speed  
+88% Kick Speed  
+88% Punch Speed  
+Takedown Maneuvers**

"Hmm, it looks like only your skills relating to combat were brought along with you other than Gamer's Mind, Body, and Observe." Sera mused. "Although, such skills would come in handy in the future, which would be expected from someone who was once SWAT and military. Anyhow, now that we're done with this part of the tutorial, we'll be going straight to battle!"

"Wait-what?" He asked incredulously.

"Yep! I'll be pitting you against opponents twice your level, but they aren't like us - the Gamers. If you can overcome superior opponents then I believe you're ready to become a Gamer! You should be receiving a quest as well for this!" She replied, still remaining cheerful.

Raphael blinked as a new notification popped up in-front of him, and the 'landscape' of the Void changed around him onto plain grasslands, ripples and the warping of air indicating the change in the 'world' around him.

 **[Quest Alert!]**

 **[Gamer Initiation]  
** **[Objective: Defeat the opponents that Sera Alyssos has set-up for you to complete the tutorial!]  
[Bonus Objective: ?]**

 **[Time Limit: N/A]  
** **[Rewards: 10,000 EXP, $5,000, +Finished Tutorial, ?]  
** **[Failure: Death]  
** **[Quest Cannot Be Denied]**

"Death huh? Well... I died once already, I don't plan on it happening again." Raphael muttered to himself and lifted up Crowd Control with his left arm arm, adapting to its weight easily, but that could be due to one of its enchantments and drew his 1911 with his right.

Seven men and women clad in full silver colored plate armor appeared in-front of him, each of them wielding a sword and a shield. The shield being a tower shield, with a cross emblazoned on the front of it, and it certainly looked thick enough to stop bullets, their swords on the other hand were longswords which showed off their impressive strength if they could hold such a blade with one hand. Casting an **(Observe)** on one of them, he only needed to read over the bare minimum of their stats.

 **Name: Holy Paladin of Duncan, God of Light  
** **Race: Blessed Human (+10 STR, +10 VIT)  
** **Class: Paladin (+20 STR, +5 VIT)  
Age: ?**

 **Level: 28**

 **HP: 15,000/15,000  
MP: 1,000/1,000**

"These are some of the foes that you'll probably face in your own personal campaign story once the tutorial is finished, albeit weakened significantly, they're still quite strong." Sera called out to him from the skies. "Originally, their levels were around seventy to eighty, but I decreased their levels just for you~." Raphael shifted nervously, seven of them had five thousand more HP than he did, it'd take awhile to kill them with just Crowd Control. "Now, get ready!"

As the Paladins of Duncan shifted into combat stances, shield in-front and sword raised behind them, Raphael slammed Crowd Control into the ground, its lockdown effect causing itself to clamp itself into the grass to remain upright as he drew his Sig Sauer, knowing that his 1911 couldn't stand-up to their armor. He waited with bated breath, as the tension was thick enough that you could cut through it with a butter knife as Raphael placed his rifle on the top of his shield.

"Fight!"

 **[BGM Activated - Skillet - Feel Invincible]**

Raphael switched to semi-automatic, knowing that they weren't like the gunmen from his previous life that had absolutely no armor at all and their armor could potentially stop 5.56mm rounds. Lining up his sights with the ACOG, he brought his rifle to bare onto the closest Paladin that was turtling behind her shield towards him and fired, the 5.56mm round ricocheting off the shield and into the ground.

"Fuck!" Raphael swore, their shields did indeed standup to rifle rounds.

He looked to his last flash bang, the M84 tactical grenade was one of two he had left, using the third one in his previous life to takedown the gunmen. He made a split-second decision and tore off the pin and threw it at the Paladins, which one of them foolishly picked up the piece of modern technology as it landed next to him, and it went off in his hands. The flash and the bang blinded and deafened the Paladins, disorienting them enough to drop their guard temporarily, allowing Raphael to take a few shots at them.

One round tore right through the armor of the Paladins, warping his armor as the round burrowed into him and killing him instantly as it pierced his heart, dropping him from a critical hit, making him realize that regardless of HP, they were still fleshy human beings that could be killed easily. Raphael quickly took advantage of the fact and killed two more Paladins with five well-placed shots, bullet casings falling onto the grass as he kept up the fire, with Gamer's Mind allowing him a peaceful state of mind, he did not hesitate nor show remorse for the ones he killed. Had Raphael dealt with the Paladins without the Gamer, he'd be hesitating as his thoughts would be jumbled up from taking a life so easily.

The four remaining Paladins recovered in-time to raise their shields and for bullets to ricochet off their shields. Raphael, dropped the emptied magazine to the grass and drew another one from his vest, ramming it into his rifle as he had a hundred-sixty 5.56mm rounds left in-total in eight magazines, he had nothing else to force the Paladins out of their guard. However, he had an idea that was quite suicidal as it featured him charging at the Paladins, and he picked up Crowd Control from its grip, ripping it out of the grass as he drew his 1911 and put away the Sig Sauer. Letting loose a war-cry as he charged towards one of the Paladins, the latter not being aware due to him turtling behind his shield that blocked the view in-front of him, and that was his undoing as Crowd Control slammed into his shield, knocking him flat on his ass with his shield flying out of his hand.

Before the Paladin could raise his sword against Raphael, a .45 ACP round came out of the latter's pistol and through the small slit of Paladin's helmet, straight into the man's eye and out the other side of his head where it embedded itself into his helmet as its interior was coated in blood and brain matter, blood seeping out like a small river through the helmet's slit. The other Paladins - surprised - quickly spun around with their shields facing him as they peeked their heads over their shields as they ran towards him, switching strategies.

Raphael quickly picked up the longsword and dropped Crowd Control into his inventory for now from the fallen Paladin with a slight huff as it weighed him down slightly, and clumsily raised it in time to block an overhead strike, Raphael was only used to blunt weapons and swords were not his forte as he pushed back against the Paladin with incredible effort.

The Paladin staggered backwards, leaving herself vulnerable to Raphael's 1911 as he fired two rounds into her plate armor, the .45 ACP rounds tearing through her armor as they embedded themselves into her abdomen, causing her to drop her sword and shield and collapse onto the ground holding her abdomen in pain. Her blood stained the grass beneath her as she let out small whimpers of pain, gripping her abdomen tightly with both hands, coating them in her own life-essence.

The two remaining Paladins cautiously circled Raphael, careful not to let themselves be vulnerable to his pistol and Raphael's head moved back and forth between both of the Paladins that gave him a wide berth. However, Raphael dropped his longsword as he didn't feel comfortable holding an unfamiliar weapon, and gripped his 1911 with both hands as he spun his aim back and forth between the Paladins that were closing in on him.

Knowing that he had the advantage of speed on his side considering that the Paladins wore full plate armor stacked with a massive tower shield and longsword, Raphael sped towards one of them, knowing that his compatriot couldn't move fast enough to save him from the attack. Raphael jump kicked into the Paladin's shield, planting both of his boots onto the shield and flipped off it, the Paladin staggering backwards but remained on his feet. Barely raising his shield arm in time, the Paladin's arm was jarred as the .45 ACP rounds slammed and ricocheted off his shield. Raphael aimed down and shot the Paladin's foot, slightly revealed from under his shield, causing the Paladin to scream in pain as the pistol round was embedded into his foot as the man dropped his shield in favor of tending to his wounded foot.

That was a mistake, and he left himself vulnerable to Raphael's 1911 and he was promptly shot in the head, dropping him to the ground with a bullet hole in his helmet, killing him via .45 ACP round to the brain. Raphael spun around to meet the sole remaining Paladin, whom shuffled around a bit on his feet a bit nervously, no doubt due to being the remaining one among his comrades dying to one man.

Raphael narrowed his eyes at the Paladin, and ran forward firing his 1911 at him, causing the man to raise his shield to block the incoming fire, making the same mistake of his now dead-brethren and jarred his arm, Raphael holstered his gun to save what little ammunition he had left and went for a Krav Maga takedown. The Paladin dropped his shield and gripped his longsword with both hands in front of him, and rushed forward to meet him.

Raphael side-stepped the overhead strike and gripped the Paladin's forearm with one hand while using the other to jab the man's wrist enough to temporarily disable everything above his wrist, forcing him to drop his sword. He grabbed his shoulder and jammed his elbow into his armpit and threw him onto the grass on his face, and planted a boot on his back and held his arm behind him, pulling it back with enough force to make him let out a small whimper of pain. Raphael twisted the Paladin's arm, making the latter cry out in pain as he twisted with enough force to snap the bone and disable his arm, leaving him completely useless to use any type of weapon with his hands temporarily. However, Raphael wouldn't allow him to live as he placed his hands on either side of the man's helmet, and twisted, snapping his neck and killing him.

Only one Paladin remained out of the seven that attacked him, the lone female Paladin that had two .45 ACP rounds embedded in her abdomen, and she lost quite amount of blood as the grass underneath and next to her was painted in blood. Raphael slowly walked up to her, and kneeled next to her as she still gripped onto what few strands of life that she had left as Raphael un-helmeted her, unveiling a silver-haired woman with gray eyes, she was quite attractive to Raphael, but she was an enemy that had tried to kill him.

"Forgive me for this." Raphael told her, putting her helmet down on the ground. "You tried to kill me, so please understand." The Paladin woman merely nodded, closing her eyes in acceptance as Raphael placed both hands on either side of her head and twisted her neck, snapping it and killing her.

 **[BGM - End]**

 **[Quest Completed - Gamer Initiation]  
** **[+10,000 EXP, +$5,000, Tutorial Completed!]**

 **[Bonus Objective Achieved - Take No Damage!]  
[? = $2,500]**

 **Level: 14 (EXP: 12,500/28,000)  
**

 **Currency: $12,500**

"Well done!" Sera appeared next to him, startling Raphael. "Although that last bit was a bit... saddening, you did great!"

"Y-Yeah, I suppose so..." Raphael muttered to himself.

"Hey, cheer up now, you've finished the tutorial!" She told him, patting his shoulder. "Now, let's goto the _Hub_."

* * *

 **(The Void - The Hub - Gamer Plaza)  
** **(Third Person POV)**

The Hub was the central meeting place for all Gamers to interact with one another, an place away from their respective universes to interact with others of the same powers, in a sense. Hundreds of Gamers met, sold, bargained, and set-up requests here, where one would be able to enable co-op mode, playing with other Gamers in the same universe. There was also the usual incursion, a massive event with dozens of Gamers participating in taking down a planet's worth of foes, or facing overwhelming odds for great rewards. Only a dozen Gamers appear within every twenty or so years, which would explain the millennia old Gamers such as Michael Nobles or Gabriel Polaris from the Beta-testing years.

"So..." Raphael said to Sera as they passed by Gamers, each dressed... exotically. "What is this 'Hub' exactly?"

"The Hub is basically the main starting place for every Gamer, barring the Beta-testers of course." Sera told him. "It was formed around five millennia ago, a hundred or so years after I became a Gamer, when I was level four hundred-twenty-two."

"Five millennia...?" He muttered in shock, before looking to see Sera's level, since she had reminded him of it.

 **Name: Sera Alyssos  
Race: Divine Norse Goddess (+100 STR, +100 VIT, +100 AGI)  
Class: Valkyrie (+50 STR, +50 VIT, +50 AGI)  
Age: 5,142**

 **Level: (X)**

 **Title: Gamer Supervisor - As one of the more older Gamers along with being a guide to many of the newer ones, Gaia has deemed you worthy to be a supervisor to all future Gamers, with also a possible chance of romantic encounters. +(Moderator Access), +(Champion of Gaia)**

 **Title: Valkyrie of Cheer - Due to your bubbly personality and being always so cheerful, regardless of the situation, many have seen you as the 'Valkyrie of Cheer' due to it along with your connection to the Norse Pantheon realm. +50 Morale, +50 Motivator.  
**

Raphael's eyes popped out of their sockets in shock, the level and age of Sera surprising him immensely, but he suppose he shouldn't be really that surprised considering what she has told him so far, so there was no one to blame but himself.

"Yeah, and I'll be giving you a non-official tutorial myself." She said, clearly hearing him. "You saw that your weapons had no effect on the shields of those Paladins, right?"

"I did..." He replied, already knowing where it was going.

"Well, since I'm a Moderator, I'll be giving you a quest." She spun around as they stopped in-front of a marketplace-looking area. "You need a new weapon, spells, and some new armor since your Kevlar is clearly down in durability."

Raphael looked down to his Kevlar vest that still had a bullet embedded in it, and winced at that as he used **(Observe)** on it.

 **[Kevlar Vest]  
** **[Rank: E-]  
** **[Grade: Common]  
** **[Durability: 4/200 - Irreparable]  
** **[Description: The Kevlar Vest is a bullet-proof vest made of strong polyethylene polymer filaments that are spun into fibers that are then laid parallel to one another, Resin is then used to coat said fibers to form a sheet of Spectra cloth. This is standard-issue to Special Weapons and Tactics, SWAT, along with other types of tactical teams around the world as protection against certain types of firearms.]**

"Yeah... I suppose I should get a new one." He said.

"That's why we're in-front of the marketplace. Basically like Gamer's Auction, something that you'll discover later, except this is called Gamer's Market. I'll send you a quest to get what you need."

 **[Quest Alert!]**

 **[Necessities For Gamers]  
[Objective: Buy a Elemental Spell, New Armor, and New Weapon.]  
[Bonus Objective: Buy a Companion]**

 **[Time Limit: N/A]  
[Rewards: $15,000, (NEW) Equipment, ?]  
[Failure: Nothing, no new equipment.]  
[Quest Cannot Be Denied**

"I'll wait here as you go on ahead by yourself, get familiarized with the Hub." She said to him, walking next to the entrance and stood there patiently. "Go on, I'll wait."

"Thanks Sera..." He told her, thankful for her patience and help.

"Of course, now go, shoo." She waved him off, and he went into the marketplace.

Going into the marketplace, Raphael passed by multiple stalls that had the same notification boxes that he's received before, ranging from incredibly cheap items to the most ridiculously expensive items at hundreds of billions of the Gamer's currency. Raphael's interest however, was piqued when he saw a blunt weapons stall, and walked towards in as if lured to it. Coming to a stop in-front of it, a notification box appeared in-front of him listing the various weapons it had.

However, out of the countless weapons, one of them caught his attention.

 **[Energy PE Baton]  
** **[Rank: D+]  
** **[Grade: Common]  
** **[Durability: 5,000/5,000]  
** **[Description: The Energy PE Baton - the PE standing for Police Enforcers - is a weapon developed by the United American Federation from a different variation of Earth in the far future, a weapon commonly used by police forces for riots and/or crowd control. The Energy PE Baton is a foot and a half long, one edge of it holding an thin blue line of focused energy to cut through anything built into it, the rest of it being composed of a silver Titanium-color, along with a handle at the grip to either activate or deactivate the energy.**

 **Effects:  
+500 Piercing/Physical Damage  
+Focused Energy/Laser Line (Cutting Damage)**

 **Cost: $7,000**

Raphael hummed, the weapon itself was worth a little over half of his funds, and he was unsure as he still needed to buy an elemental spell and new body armor. However, any other weapon on the list was unappealing to him and made a decision then and there to buy it.

 **Currency: $5,500**

 **[New item received! [Energy PE Baton] has been placed in inventory!]**

With that, Raphael continued on through the marketplace, while a bit concerned at the loss of money he knew it could've been worse, and besides, quest rewards had him receive fifteen thousand upon completion. Although, he did pass by a stall that had featured various 'companions' that could be bought, from regular civilians and soldiers to demigods and dragons, and he doubt he could even buy the latter at his current status. However, he promised himself he would go back if he had the remaining funds for it once he completed the main objective.

Passing by a large amount of stalls, some selling 'divine' food, some selling clothing, and some selling mob drops, he eventually came upon a stall that sold books that sold basic Element magic skills, incredibly cheap. He scrolled past earth spells, water spells, air spells metal spells, until he eventually came upon spells for fire, the exact thing he was looking for an element-based magic spell when receiving information on such things.

 **(Fireball) (Active) (Level: 1/25) (MP Cost: 500 Per Cast)**

 **Description: Fireball is the most basic and cheapest among the elemental fire skills, but can eventually become one of the most powerful once one would level it up and goes through the evolutions of this spell. The user of this spell would channel this skill into either of said user's hands and use it to summon a ball of fire hovering a few inches above their palm, this skill, while cheap, is deadly to unarmored individuals.**

 **Effects:  
+Inflict [Status Effect - Burn]  
+250 Impact Damage  
+250 Fire Damage**

 **Cost: $1,000**

Raphael, of course, bought it on the spot.

 **Currency: $4,500**

All Raphael had to do now was to buy new armor, and he once more went onto search for armor-selling stalls in his area, or level if you want to be precise. Fortunately, or unfortunately, none of his fellow Gamers had come up to him and talked to him or even looked at him for that matter, they were more or less engrossed in whatever screen they had in-front of them as they passed by Raphael. Although, he supposed it was for the better considering he wouldn't know what to do speaking with them, such high-powered beings that they were.

Soon enough, he came upon an armor store that sold things in his price range, and scrolled through the list of bodily defenses that ranged from standard Kevlar vests to full-out futuristic mech suits with so many complex and individual parts that Raphael couldn't even comprehend. However, he merely looked around the price range of the Kevlar, at a staggeringly low five hundred for costs.

He came upon a fully modified Kevlar vest, enveloping the entire torso and arms with it going up to the collar, and leaving the front of it exposed. Of course, it provided more protection than his current Kevlar that was utterly decimated, as it only provided cover to the front and back of the torso and it only costed three times more than the original Kevlar vest in the list.

 **[Full-Torso Kevlar Armor]  
** **[Rank: E+]  
** **[Grade: Common]  
** **[Durability: 1,000/1,000]  
** **[Description: A more covering version of the standard Kevlar vest, as this envelops the entire torso, arms, and the nape and sides of the neck with its collar. This armor was seen in use in one of the variations of Earth used by rebels to protect themselves against an extra-dimensional empire and their forces, even if their weapons could just as easily pierce through it, it still provided some form of protection.]**

 **Cost: $1,500**

"Huh, an extra-dimensional empire... Interesting..." Raphael muttered to himself as he read over the description, before buying it.

 **Currency: $3,000**

 **[New item received! [Full-Torso Kevlar Armor] has been placed in inventory!]**

Now having bought all the needed items from the quest's objective, Raphael re-traced his steps to the companion stall he had passed by earlier while also equipping his new armor and weapon, no longer clad in the plain Kevlar vest with the word ' _SWAT_ ' emblazoned on it, saddening for him a bit at the loss of it, but he continued nonetheless and whipped out the Energy PE Baton, its energy line slightly crackling. Raphael is no doubt intimidating, his entire attire was colored matte-black, his balaclava and tactical goggles making him seem quite... scary, and now that he had equipped the new Kevlar, the torso became more pronounced due to the thickness of the armor having to compensate for arm-coverage.

Anyhow, he soon came upon the companions shop, the scrolling list appearing for him as he stood in-front of it, and as he scrolled past each 'companion', a hologram in the stall would change its appearance to match the selected companion on the list. However, his current purchasable 'companions' were on a short list, the rest being red due to him not having enough funds to buy them. Although, even if the list was short, the 'companions' were certainly interesting but eventually settled for the most expensive 'companion' and bought an Elite Ranger.

 **Name: Hal Greene  
Race: Human  
Class: Elite Ranger (+20 AGI)  
Age: 52 (LOCKED)**

 **Level: 20 (EXP: 0/40,000)**

 **HP (Health Points): 8,100/8,100 (2,700 HP regeneration per minute)  
MP (Mana Points): 4,050/4,050 (1,900 MP regeneration per minute)  
**

 **STR (Strength): 25 (24+10=34)  
** **VIT (Vitality): 27** **(300 HP per point, 100 HP regeneration per point)  
** **AGI (Agility): 34  
** **INT (Intelligence): 27** **(150 MP per point)  
** **WIS (Wisdom): 19** **(100 MP regeneration per point)  
** **CHR (Charisma): 1  
** **LUC (Luck): 11  
** **Skill Points: 0**

 **Description: Hal Greene is an 'Elite Ranger' meant for the tracking and hunting of targets, be they animals, humans, or otherwise. Coming from a modern-day age he's clad in a woodland camouflaged cloak with matching trousers and a shirt - it usually having its sleeves rolled up to show off the scars on his arms - and a compound bow with thirty arrows in a quiver slung over his shoulder. He also has a huntsman knife in his possession sheathed on his left shoulder should he ever wish to engage in combat. Hal Greene is a man of much experience due to his age, but all this is a merely scripted background by his creators.**

 **Cost: $3,000**

Raphael of course, was slightly impressed at the stats and level for a companion that costed a mere three thousand, but he shivers to think of the more expensive companions on the list that would outweigh the 'Elite Ranger' he just bought.

 **Currency: 0**

 **[Quest Completed - Necessities For Gamers]  
** **[+$15,000, +[Full-Torso Kevlar Armor], +[Energy PE Baton], +(Fireball)]**

 **[Bonus Objective Achieved - Buy a Companion]  
[+$5,000]**

 **Currency: $20,000**

With his quest completed, the Elite Ranger that Raphael bought stood in-front of him with his cloak slightly open at the front as he cross his arms, the upper half of his face being shadowed by the hood of his cloak as his compound bow was over his shoulder and a quiver full of arrows slung over the other. He said nothing but merely stood in-front of Raphael and stared at him, as if he was awaiting any sort of order from him.

"Uhm, follow me?" Raphael ordered uncertainly.

"Order acknowledged, following now." Hal said, thankfully not in a monotone voice, but one that was gruff and full of hardship as his hands went to his sides.

"Okay... Now that's odd..." Raphael muttered to himself, as he turned around and began to walk towards where he could recall the entrance was, Hal following behind him a few steps.

Of course, he still didn't receive any attention from any other Gamers, even with Hal now following him, but he supposed that it was commonplace for such things to happen at the Hub, considering its been here for thousands of years on-end, possibly being created long before the oldest Gamer. Soon enough, he came upon the entrance and as she had said, Sera was still waiting there patiently, staring off into the 'sky' of the Void.

"Sera, I've completed my quest." Raphael called out to her, and she snapped out of her 'star-gazing'.

"Ah, well done! And I see you've done the bonus objective as well!" She told him cheerfully, "Now that that's done, we can finally send you off towards your designated world!"

"Er... 'Designated world?'" He questioned warily, Hal stood behind him not-at-all fazed by anything.

"Yep!" She said, popping the 'p'. "It's basically your main campaign and new home for you to conquer, dominate, and rule over as time passes when you come to power!"

"Right... I'm not even going to question it, I've seen enough insanity-inducing things here already to not be fazed by that, just send me off." Raphael replied tiredly. "I shouldn't be taking all this in so easily, but I think it's Gamer's Mind's fault for that..."

"I wish you and your new companion the best of luck Raphael! Remember if you need any help, feel free to call me up!" She said cheerily, before a large human-sized ovular portal opened next to her. "There's the entrance to your new home~! Enjoy it, and I hope you have a wonderful time!" Was all she said before Raphael and his companion was pulled through the portal, leaving behind a smiling and waving Sera Alyssos.

* * *

 **(? - ? - ?)  
** **(Raphael's POV)**

My eyes fluttered open as sunlight penetrated through my eyelids, and I sat-up to see that Hal was already standing guard at my side, along with a small notification box that appeared in-front of me after I had sat-up. The sun going down slowly at the horizon, would've made for a perfect picture to take of the clearing we were in, but I'm no photographer, nor did I actually have time to appreciate the little things of life.

 **[Welcome to Terros!]**

 **[Terros is a world three times the size that of Earth, yet not on par with the latter's technology they compensate with their use of magic and actual gods. The various governments, kingdoms, cities, and other are always constantly embroiled in war one way or another, everyday a war is declared and ended between kingdoms, swords clash, bowstrings let loose, and magic spells go off. Due to constant fighting the male to female ratio is one to six, which did in-fact encourage for men to have harems, concubines, multiple lovers, etc, something that is commonplace on Terros where war is a constant. It is up to you to re-unite the entirety of Terros and end the constant wars, create a kingdom of your own a bring peace through peaceful or warmongering means!]**

"Well, shit." I muttered to myself, knowing that this 'campaign' will take forever if the last bit was any indication. "Hal, follow me."

"Order acknowledged, following now." He replied as I stood up, dusting myself off.

Looking around at the skies, I saw a plume of smoke a certain distance away, the only sign of civilization as far as I can see from the clearing of the forest that we were in. _Well_ , I mused to myself, _Hal and myself have a long walk ahead of ourselves..._


	2. Arc 1: Guardian, Love At First Sight

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - ? - ?)  
(Raphael's POV)**

It was an interesting transition to say the least... From dying in a SWAT operation gone wrong to being given a power that would technically make me an eventual 'ruler' of this world apparently called Terros. On that note, I should be affected in some way by the deaths of my teammates, barring Hector, considering that two of them were killed in front of me and another presumed dead so easily, I was even 'indirectly' responsible for tearing a family apart with Simmons' death.

I'm unsure as to whether or not I should be concerned about the full adverse effects of Gamer's Mind, when it mentions a 'calm state of mind', does it necessarily mean that negative emotions such as anger, depression, or hate will be gone permanently? What I do know however, is that it doesn't completely block out _all_ emotions, I did feel loss for a brief moment for the deaths of my teammate during my small venture into the marketplace in the Hub. However, what I can assume it means is that it deals with negative mental affects to the mind that would affect one's movement and thought process out in the field, something that would impede this 'Gaia' woman's Gamers, including myself.

 **Due to searching and finding your own answers to one of your abilities WIS has increased by 1!**

...I suppose this is what Sera had referred to as earning some of my stats 'naturally' instead of spending my skill points, although... I do have a feeling that notifications such as this will probably mock me in the far future for these stats.

Turning my attention and focus back to the real world and away from my thoughts, Hal and myself were definitely close to the plume of smoke, and it should be past this small underbrush in front of us - it certainly looked like Earth trees and foliage, the only notable difference was the particles of 'light' coming off them, but other than that... I would've assumed I was on Earth had I not received the notification box from the Gamer that this was 'Terros'.

Terros... A primitive world that I doubt has even come close to finding out the functions of gunpowder, nor the creation of musket weaponry, but I suppose that their so-called 'magic' compensates for that as the introduction had said so, to what extent and level is something I don't know on the other hand that would stay my opinion for now.

Pushing past the foliage, the sight that I came upon was horrifying, from what I can see so far was that a village(?) was set aflame and I could still see the moving outlines of its inhabitants running around in a presumed-panic. I can also assume that this was not caused by an accident, people on horseback were cutting some of the runners down, and some were being dragged away from other groups of people. I had to react fast, else more lives are lost to this banditry.

"Hal, eliminate the ones killing the unarmed and fleeing people, protect them!" I ordered, as I drew my new Energy PE Baton and Crowd Control.

"Affirmative, engaging hostiles." He complied, drawing his compound bow and an arrow from his quiver as he surged forward.

 **[Quest Alert!]**

 **[Saving The Innocent!]  
[Objective: A band of nineteen raiders has decided to assault this village, killing many of the men and capturing many of the women, stop these monsters before they continue such horrible acts to them! Save the village!]  
**

 **[Time Limit: 00:30:00]  
[Rewards: $1,000, 5,000 EXP, ?]  
[Failure: Death of villagers, continued acts of banditry in region, possible criminal offense]  
[Do You Wish To Accept?]  
[Y/N]**

Running along the grass, Hal moved faster than me considering his light load compared to my own composed of a massive riot shield and a titanium baton that was a foot and a half, my Elite Ranger engaged them first as I clicked on the **[Y]** to accept the quest immediately, I will of course forbid such things from happening!

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed Lvl.18 Marauder! +500 Shared EXP!**

While it was nice to know that I received shared experience from Hal's kills I had to focus on the battle in front of me considering we took them by surprise I had to use their shock to my advantage, and I charged towards one of the bandits and rammed Crowd Control into him, knocking him flat on his ass as I followed up with an overhead swing with my baton. The energy-bladed side of the baton cut down the middle of the man's head with a squelch, splitting it like a coconut as I whipped my baton out of his head in disgust at the visible cauterized insides of his head.

 **Lvl.17 Marauder killed! +1,000 EXP!**

"Rraaagh!" Another bandit came up from behind me with a war-cry, a short-sword and round shield in his hands.

I rose Crowd Control as the bandit slashed at me, his sword rung against my shield and I bashed him in the chest, forcing him to stagger backwards, disoriented and I swung my baton at his neck with its blunt side. While it wasn't as effective as the energy-bladed side of the baton, the applied blunt force to his neck caused it snap, killing the man with a sickening crack. The bandit fell to the ground, dead as his weapons slipped out of his hands to the dirt, so easily killed by a piece of modern technology.

 **Lvl.18 Cutthroat killed! +1,000 EXP!**

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed Lvl.18 Marauder! +500 Shared EXP!**

Hardly any damage on my part, nor did I receive any notifications on Hal's HP being taken down, it was safe to say that - regardless of level - we were superior to them in terms of skill. However, they did have us beat in the numbers department as there was fourteen of them left to battle us two, unless the village's inhabitants decide to jump in and help us I don't see myself or Hal getting out without injury.

An arrow snapped in the dirt next to me, and I rose my shield in time to block another arrow as I traced its trajectory back towards its wielder, a scrawny man with a short-bow and a quiver of arrows stood further down the village's dirt road with a mace-wielding brute protecting him. Logically, should I advance forward with my shield protecting me, I'd expose myself to the archer to fight the mace-wielder, increasing my chance of getting hit, but I did have the flash bang-type function on Crowd Control to use along with a fireball spell to test out.

I raised my shield up and hid behind it, advancing forward as the bandit archer's arrows broke against Crowd Control, primitive arrows doing nothing to an Adamantium shield, only scratching the paint at best. My peripheral vision was limited but I had used another one of my six senses to hear the obvious charge of one of the bandits - most likely the mace-wielder - considering the obvious pounding of feet on the dirt coming closer to me, which prompted me to use the disorientation function on my shield - a small red button on my side located next to the handle.

"Gah!" One of the bandits shouted in panic, and I rushed forward the location of where the voice came from with the intent to shield bash the man. "My fucking eyes! Motherfu-!"

He was cut off as I slammed Crowd Control in the man's chest, sending him flying backwards with a grunt, the Legendary-grade shield clearly had added effects that were borderline inhuman, a normal SWAT officer wielding a riot shield could stagger an unarmed person and knock them flat on their ass whereas I sent the bandit flying back a good ten feet.

It was clearly a more lethal shield bash as the bandit was bloodied and bruised as he laid on the dirt, cradling his now-broken arm with a grimace, I had to give him credit for not breaking down crying at such an injury. Quickly dashing up to him, I shield bashed him once more in the face, and the audible snap of his neck told me that his life had ended here. I spun around, blocking an arrow with Crowd Control, not so easily forgetting about the archer.

 **Lvl.18 Marauder killed! +1,000 EXP!**

Placing away the baton in my inventory, I held my palm in front of me facing upwards, it'd be a good time to test out my new 'fireball' spell - if I could find out how to activate it in the first place that is - as I placed Crowd Control in lock down mode in front of me, defending me against the bandit archer.

"Now... How does this work exactly?" I murmured to myself, mentally thinking of 'fireball' but no effects thus far. "Is it... **(Fireball)** " A spiraling orb of fire appeared in my hand, twice the size of my head, and I nearly reeled back in surprise. "Great, voice activated spells, how wonderful!" I sarcastically said to myself as the fireball spun above my palm.

Turning towards the archer - whose eyes were now the size of saucers - I cocked back my arm and threw it forward, launching the fireball at the man whom scrambled backwards to avoid it, but to no avail as it crashed against his face. His agonizing screams echoed out to me, the burn effect of the fireball clearly extending his suffering as he rolled on the ground.

 **Lvl.20 Bandit Sharpshooter killed! +1,500 EXP!**

I merely stared blankly at the man's burning corpse, his screams fading out to a series of strangled gasps, his death was gruesome but warranted for banditry, it was unlikely that his fate would've been better at an official execution should I have captured him, if I had found a kingdom of some sort that is. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as wisps of the man's charred body overran my sense of smell, stepping over the body to avoid further contact with the now-dead man, I blinked as one of - what I can assume - the village's inhabitants laid in front of me. What little apparel she had looked torn apart as she used one arm to cover her rather... ample breasts, cowering before me.

"P-Please don't kill me..." She whimpered, briefly glancing at the grotesque body of the bandit I had just killed, and I winced.

My matte-black clothing had clearly added the intimidation factor, and even with me saving her from a fate worse than death, she no doubt thinks her chances aren't any better than before. I brought my hands up in a placating gesture in an attempt to soothe her, and it sort-of worked as some hints of her fear faded away, but she was still quite fearful enough for her to fight back should I make a move closer to her I assume.

"Don't worry..." I said to her soothingly, getting on my haunches. "I won't bring you any harm." She looked unconvinced, until I slowly took off my tactical goggles and balaclava, revealing myself to her. "See? No harm."

"I..." She looked away with a blush before turning back to me. "A-Are you here to save us, Sir Knight?"

I blinked again, in surprise. "'Sir Knight'?" I asked, being referred as such is... odd, considering my attire. "I mean- I'm here to save you, yes, but I'm no knight."

"Y-You're not?" She replied confusedly, "But... _You're handsome and strong like in the tales._ " She whispered the last bit, but I caught it regardless.

"Listen, I'm no knight, I'm only here to protect and save you from these raiders."

However, before our conversation could continue, I saw her eyes wander over my shoulder and widen in panic, before releasing a scream as I spun around in time to catch a scimitar with both of my gloved hands. I winced as I felt the blade cut through the fibers of my gloves as the bandit pushed further against me.

 **-45 HP! 9,855/9,900! Status Effect [Minor Bleeding] on [Right] and [Left] hand has been inflicted upon! -2 HP per minute for 00:01:00!**

"I'll fucking kill you!" The bandit snarled, applying more force.

"You first motherfucker!" I shot back, slamming a boot onto the man's knee, causing him to collapse as his knee bent at an odd angle with a crack, forcing him to release his hold over me.

I hooked a foot around his other leg, and pulled forward, knocking the bandit right from under him as he fell to the ground with the air knocked out of him and I jabbed at the man's neck mid-fall, causing him to choke. With the bandit falling on the ground, I planted a boot on the man's heaving chest as blood dripped from my hands, drawing my M1911 from my inventory and pointing it at his head with my right hand.

Pulling the trigger, the man's head and brain matter splattered onto the ground beneath him as the .45 ACP round slammed into his forehead at point-blank range.

 **Lvl.19 Bandit Rogue killed! +1,250 EXP!**

I holstered my M1911 as I couldn't exactly hold it steady with my hands in their current state, and I brought them up to eye-level to see the extent of the damages that the bandit had inflicted upon me. Two jagged gashes, one on each hand, were present and had a steady stream of blood coming from them, the fabric of the gloves were torn from the scimitar's blade. However, the injuries were healing themselves at an inhuman pace, the bleeding having already stopped and the skin and flesh mending itself, this... was the effect of being a Gamer.

Soon enough, the wound altogether was completely gone, leaving behind a jagged scar that had looked as if it were there for years, present only as a faded pale white line across my palms. I silently swore to myself, I had gotten distracted with one of the civilians and I had received the consequences, it had gotten me a minor injury. Turning towards the now-quivering woman, I spoke to her.

"Get yourself somewhere safe, I have to deal with this." I ordered her, and she hesitantly nodded before hastily getting up.

"My name is Rosalina Surrexerunt, and... Thank you." She said to me, before scurrying off.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair as I watched Rosalina run down the dirt path, seven out of the nineteen bandits were eliminated by Hal and my own's hands, twelve remained.

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed Lvl.20 Bandit Sharpshooter and Lvl.18 Cutthroat! +1,250 Shared EXP!**

I suppose that makes for ten bandits remaining, taking Hal as a companion was definitely worth it now, which would make it a priority of mine to take in more companions from the Hub's marketplace. Some advice from Sera would also be ideal, considering that I need more training with my newly-gained prowess.

"Oi! There's a wannabe fucking hero here!" I spun around, and came face-to-face with the ten remaining bandits. "Yeah, you! You're going to die for killing our friends!"

Based on appearance, two of them were Bandit Sharpshooters, five were Marauders, two Bandit Rogues, one Cutthroat, and the last was of unknown class and I can only assume that he's the leader of this raid. While I was confident in taking on two or three of them simultaneously in CQC, fighting ten of them is a completely different matter, the Paladins that I had fought wouldn't count considering that they've never attempted to take me down in groups, only one on ones or in pairs.

I tensed up as half of them surged forth - the marauders - and the sharpshooters drew back their bowstrings, the rogues and the cutthroat stood behind their - from what I can assume - leader with their blades drawn.

" **(Fireball)** **(Fireball)**!" Two orbs of fire formed in each of my hands, trails of fire spinning around them, and threw both at the marauders.

The two magical spells sped towards the charging bandits, soon colliding and smashing against them in a fiery splash of flames and sparks, their tunics easily catching aflame from the contact as it spread from the first two marauders that were hit to their compatriots. They screamed as the flames fully enveloped the four of them, the sole marauder unaffected by the flames of his compatriots had a look of complete shock across his features, although he quickly recovered and turned towards me with fury in his eyes.

 **4x Lvl.18 Marauder killed! +4,000 EXP!**

Before the last marauder could move, an arrow had suddenly found itself protruding from his neck, the man's eyes widening with shock as he gave out gurgling sounds, choking on his own blood as he slowly collapsed to his knees and slid down onto his face in the dirt. The blood seeping from the man's neck pooled beneath his head, soiling and dampening the dirt ground in his life essence.

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed Lvl.18 Marauder! +500 Shared EXP!**

Half of the remaining bandits were killed, and my MP had recovered rather quickly in that small span of time, Hal had soon joined me as well with an arrow drawn and aimed at the five remaining bandits standing a bit further down away from us, and they were looking quite nervous if their shifting was any indication.

"Hostile eliminated, five targets remaining and spotted, permission to engage?" Hal grunted, his cloak lightly billowing in the wind.

"No, do not fire unless they move Hal." I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and he lowered his bow but still kept an arrow drawn.

"Affirmative, remaining alert." He replied, and he lightened his tense stance into a more eased one.

"So!" I shouted at the remaining bandits, and some of them flinched. "What brings you to this small town then?"

The 'leader' stepped up with a scowl, "This was supposed to be an easy raid until YOU came along! Now most of my men are dead!"

"Well, whose fault is that then?" I shot back. "You should've eventually expected something to go wrong on one of these raids of yours, no?"

"Fuck you!" The bandit leader charged at me, and Hal drew back his bowstring, soon releasing an arrow.

Hal's arrow flew at the bandit leader, slamming into his steel breastplate and puncturing it, causing him to stagger briefly as the arrow remained stuck into his armor, a light drip of blood coming from the hole. However, he continued charging - albeit at a slower pace - towards us, his newly-gained wound appearing to have only hindered him for a small amount of time, and I was impressed at the man's vitality to continue on, I doubt I would be able to continue fighting with an arrow in my chest before I became a Gamer.

"Rraaagh!" The bandit leader gave a war-cry which spurred on his subordinates to fight as well.

Hal quickly drew back an another arrow, but jumped backwards as the bandit leader brought down his great sword on his position, and he drew his knife, which would be a bad idea in of itself considering the range and power of a great sword compared to his huntsman knife. This of course, led to Hal backpedaling in retreat, allowing for the bandit leader to spin towards me with fury in his eyes as he glared at me balefully.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" He all-but screamed at me, and swung his sword at me.

I leaned back as the blade passed over me by but a hair, and I retaliated by drawing my baton from my inventory and swinging it at him. The man blocked it with both hands as we began a struggle for dominance, I pushed forward with both hands on my baton, and the bandit did the same with his sword. A sound of surprise came from my left, and I slightly looked in that direction with the corner of my eyes to see a cutthroat with an arrow in his neck.

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed Lvl.18 Cutthroat! +500 Shared EXP!**

I let out a breath of silent relief at Hal's cover for me, considering the strength of the bandit leader in front of me required my full attention lest I make a fatal mistake. I pushed back against the bandit, breaking the lock of our weapons as he staggered backwards, leaving him vulnerable to attack. Swinging the laser side of the baton at the man's shoulder, it was unfortunately blocked by his sword, fortunately it completely sheared off half of his sword, his weapon already being weakened from our previous clash.

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed 2x Lvl.20 Bandit Sharpshooter! +1,500 Shared EXP!**

The sheared off part of the bandit's sword flew away, leaving behind a half-sword in the bandit's hand that was steaming from the contact with the energy weapon. He looked at his broken weapon in shock before looking back at me in anger, and he jabbed the broken - yet still sharp - sword at me. In my goddamn arrogance, I briefly let down my defenses due to breaking his weapon, and I barely managed to dodge it with a side-step, the broken sword cutting across my right shoulder.

 **-75 HP! Status Effect [Minor Bleeding] on [Right Shoulder] has been inflicted upon! -25 HP per minute!**

I held my shoulder with my left hand in order to staunch the bleeding, and I took a few steps back as the bandit held his broken sword against me, I wouldn't so easily make the same mistake twice. I spun my energy baton at my side, a small burning sensation came from my shoulder as I spun it, Gamer's Mind is no doubt suppressing the pain I would normally feel without said skill.

I swung upwards at him, the baton knocking the bandit's broken sword out of his hand, sending it flying elsewhere as the man was left unarmed before me. Before he could speak, I brought down the energy baton on the bandit's neck, ripping through him and his steel armor, forcing it down fully with both hands, it completely sheared off his upper body - sliding off his other half and landing on the ground with a disgusting wet splat.

 **Lvl.26 Dalor Nilus killed! +2,500 EXP!**

"Dalor is dead!" One of the two remaining rogues said in despair, "We have to run, warn the boss!"

As they spun around and began to run, I quickly turned towards my companion. "Hal! Take them out now!"

He nodded, nocking an arrow. "It will be done." He let loose, the bowstring was released and an arrow flew towards one of the fleeing rogues.

It was a fairly impressive shot, as they were at least two or three hundred feet away from us, the arrow arced across the sky and slammed into the back of one of the bandits, sending the latter sprawling to the ground. Of course, from my position it looked like the bandit still standing double his pace if possible, not even checking to see if his comrade had survived the shot.

 **Companion [Hal Greene] has killed Lvl.19 Bandit Rogue! +650 Shared EXP!**

"Target is out of range, shall I pursue and eliminate?" Hal requested, another arrow nocked.

I hesitated, it would be best to have Hal at my side for any future incursions, and we don't fully know of the surrounding land here. "...No, let him go." I'll most likely regret it later on.

"Permission to speak freely?" He asked, and I blinked in surprise, Hal was capable of such things?

"Er... Granted." I replied, unsure.

"If the bandit should report to his superiors, it would be best to either prepare the defenses of this area or flee from the potential threat, as we are not ready to deal with their so-called 'boss' considering that the bandit leader you had just fought had managed to deal damage to you. However, there is still the off-chance that there is no incoming threat and that their 'boss' would see us as too much of a hassle to deal with." He told me, placing back the arrow from his bow into his quiver. "May I also gather my arrows?"

"Uhm, of course." I allowed him, and Hal walked off to gather his arrows from the bodies of the bandits.

 **[Quest Completed - Saving The Innocent!]  
** **[+$1,000, +5,000 EXP, +50 REP to Kyros Village!]**

 **You have leveled up to Level 15! +5 Skill Points! (EXP: 4,900/30,000)!**

 **Currency: $21,000**

Well, I'm now level fifteen, and this small village is apparently called Kyros, how... Interesting.

"E-Excuse me," I blinked in surprise at the girl from earlier's voice speaking to me, and I spun around, coming face-to-face with Rosalina. She was no longer wearing her previous torn apart clothing, now wearing a bodice that barely held behind her rather... large breasts. Now that I had a closer look of Rosalina, she was quite beautiful actually, but not on the level of Sera, Rosalina had a pair of cerulean eyes that shone with mirth with waist length hair as dark as midnight. "Are you okay? You're bleeding..." She asked in concern, gently reaching out to touch my shoulder wound.

"I'll be fine," I waved off her concern, stopping her hand from touching my shoulder. "It should be healing now."

It began healing right on time, the bleeding stopping right in front of our eyes, and the wound itself mending and sealing, soon becoming nothing more than a faded-looking white scar on my shoulder, unfortunately my clothing couldn't do that, as the bandit hit one of the few vulnerable spots of my armor. Although, I was well aware that the small amount of armor there prevented some form of damage from the blade that struck me.

"T-That's amazing!" She said in awe, staring at my newly-healed shoulder. "How do you do it?"

"It's a natural ability of mine, Rosalina. Wounds such as those would barely last for long." I told her, and she pouted.

"A 'natural' ability? You're so lucky." She muttered in faux-jealously.

I chuckled, "Yep, but it did come with a great price, one that I won't tell you of." I told her, and her pout intensified, it was honestly quite cute...

Wait... 'cute?'... Oh no, I refuse to believe in 'love at first sight'!

 **[Quest Alert!]**

 **[A Gamer's Bloodline! (LONG-TERM QUEST!)]  
[Objective: As most male Gamers are beings of power, many of the opposite gender have become attracted to them, becoming their wives through the Gamer and granting them partial abilities of the Gamer, but their children become full-fledged Gamers through 'blood'. This of course, encourages harems, something that beta testers Michael Nobles and Gabriel Polaris have. +Have six or more lovers/wives.]**

 **[Time Limit: N/A]  
[Rewards: +Women to Love, +$10,000,000, +5,000,000 EXP]  
[Failure: Be lonely for an indefinite amount of time.]  
[Quest Cannot Be Denied]**

Well, shit. I mean- I have pondered the thought of a... harem considering the description of Terros, and if women were as beautiful as the one in front of me everywhere, I'd have a difficult time resisting the urges of lust overtaking me regardless of Gamer's Mind, and I would be more or less inclined to declare my love for them.

"-ello? Are you okay?" Rosalina said as I tuned back in, waving a hand in front of me.

"Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought there, what did you say?" I apologized to her.

"I said, what is your name, else I call you 'Sir Knight'." She repeated, hands on her hips.

"It's Raphael, Raphael D'Angelo." I told her quickly, I would NOT want to be called a 'knight'.

She hummed, "You have the name of a noble, yet you are not one?"

"I assure you, I'm not of nobility."

She eyed me with a scrutinizing gaze, looking over my attire as she leaned forward, and I leaned back in return. She touched and felt around the fabric of my clothing and armor, evening examining the energy baton I had in my hand that had arcs of energy appearing across it. It was becoming rather uncomfortable, and it certainly didn't help that her curvaceous body was nearly pressed up against me during her examination.

"You are not a noble... Yet this fabric is quite comfortable and soft, and your weapon is odd as well." She said, pointing them out. "Who are you truly Raphael?"

"I'm... an outsider, not of this continent, nor of this world..." I decided to take a risk and tell her, something that I hope I won't regret as her eyes widened in shock and surprise.

"T-Truly?" She asked, and I hesitantly nodded. "Then... You must have been sent from the divine realm, someone or something of a higher power has sent you here, thank Seraphine."

Well, she wasn't wrong about me being sent here by a being of divine power, so I suppose that's acceptable. Although, I do wonder who this 'Seraphine' is, but the way Rosalina had said it makes it sound as if the name belonged to a god or goddess that she worships.

"Rosalina, who is this... 'Seraphine'?" I asked, curious.

"Seraphine is our goddess, a being of immense kindness and power, she watches over us - her worshipers." She informed me, in obvious reverence of the now-identified goddess. "But... She didn't help us on this day, I would've thought she had sent you but you didn't appear to know who she was."

"Oh... I'm sorry about that," I did in-fact feel sorry for her, beings of higher power did exist here unlike on Earth, and she was let down, her faith having no reward. "I'm sure that she was watching, but wasn't able to do anything." I patted Rosalina's shoulder in sympathy.

"...Thank you Raphael, I'm sure she was as well..." She reassured herself, and wrapping her arms around me with an utterly crushing hug.

"H-Ha, o-of course..." I gasped out, this woman's strength was incredible! "B-But I can't breathe...Hrk!"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She released me from her hold, "I've been told that I have impressive strength that I keep forgetting about, I apologize if I caused you any harm."

"I-It's fine..." I breathed out, still recovering from her bear-crushing hug. "Anyhow, how many had... died?"

She turned solemn at that, "What few of the men left and elderly were killed, the bandits had forced themselves upon some of the women as well, and I would've been one of them had you not saved me from such a fate Raphael, for that, I am eternally grateful." She bowed her head at me, "Only twenty-four of us remain out of the original fifty-one."

I winced, "I am sorry I had not come sooner, I could have saved more of you." I shook my head, twenty-six lives lost, something like that is unacceptable. "Why do you have no protectors? A militia? What about the territory we're in?"

Rosalina turned her head away, "All of the able-bodied men were called to service to fight in the war with a neighboring kingdom, the Duchy of Perros, because of the war, many have resorted to banditry, famine and droughts have become common in other villages as well. The kingdom we reside in is the Kingdom of Furore, King Lenard IV is fighting a losing war, I am afraid of what is to come should the Perrosians win." She shook her head in dismay. "While we are more isolated than most villages, we still receive news of the war by passing caravans, the most recent being five thousand of the King's soldiers losing to twelve thousand of the Perrosians, the latter taking the city of Camrias."

That isn't good at all, and it seems like that Furore is the defending kingdom here considering the numbers against these 'Perrosians', after all, what insane king would declare war on a neighboring kingdom that has superior numbers than them? I suppose the description of Terros was accurate, considering that I'm in a territory currently embroiled in a war with another one.

"Can you show me a map of this place then, along with telling me the history of this place Rosalina?" I asked her, needing to know everything about Terros as it is now. "After burying your dead of course!" I said hastily, not forgetting that they would so easily recover from such a devastating attack.

"Of course, I'll be back." She replied, and started walking off towards another group of her fellow villagers.

I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair, and grabbed a nearby stool, sitting down upon it as Hal came back with an arrow in his hand, cleaning the blood off of it with a cloth. He must've been done with gathering his arrows, although there was a significant amount of missing arrows in his quiver, some of them having likely been broke or lost during the engagement with the bandits a few minutes ago.

"Orders?" He asked, not looking at me as he wiped the arrowhead clean of blood.

"For now, we wait Hal." I told him, equipping and looking over my M1911.

* * *

Hal and I stood underneath the shade of a tree, the villagers had respectfully declined our help in burying their dead, leaving us to watch as they mournfully laid their dead to rest, and burned the bodies of the bandits - after claiming their weapons and armor as their own. It was honestly saddening to watch such a scene as I watched Rosalina bury another villager, most likely one of her friends, with trembling hands.

After they were finished praying for their recently-buried dead, they dispersed themselves, with Rosalina coming up to me with a single tear going down her face that she quickly wiped away as she briefly looked away to do so.

"I-I'm sorry, let's just go get you those maps and information." She told me, with a slight hiccup in her speech.

"Rosalina, you don't have to do so, you're clearing in mourning." I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We can do this later."

"N-No, it's fine." She slapped my hand off her shoulder. "You don't have to wait for my sake, follow me."

I frowned, but didn't say anything, I would have to address this matter later with her, and she'll have to face it eventually instead of remaining in a perpetual state of sadness and depression. Regardless, Hal and myself still followed her down the dirt path of the village, passing by the smoldering remains of buildings and structures until we eventually came upon a building that was slightly larger than the rest and hardly damaged from the recent raid.

"This is the village's library," Rosalina said, pulling open the two doors that were its entrance. "Thankfully, it remained mostly intact during the attack along with its librarian."

"Yes, thankfully." I echoed, it was honestly quite surprising to see a library within a village as small as this, even more surprising that they had a library at all, considering the technological level of this world. With us entering the building, I would estimate that there were at least two hundred or more books with the filled shelves and the amount in each one, this is really surprising now, and it would also explain the rather educated speech of Rosalina.

"Over here is the maps." She gestured over to a stack of scrolls on a table. "Although they may be a bit outdated, they're still good enough to mark the larger kingdoms that still remain today."

Coming over to the table, Rosalina unrolled one of the scrolls, unveiling a moderately sized map with names, designations, and geographical markings. Furore was around the size of the state of Texas, and Perros was around the size of Mexico, which would explain why Furore was losing the war, Perros possibly has more people to conscript considering the size of their territory along with possible cities and towns.

"As you can see, Furore is not a relatively large kingdom, compared to others on the continent, - which is called Janus mind you - let alone the world." She said, "Then again, most human-run kingdoms are small compared to the kingdoms run by different races." At my questioning look, she explained. "I didn't say all human kingdoms were smaller compared to the other ones run by races like the elves, dwarves, or the angels and demons, to name a few among hundreds."

"The only human nation on Janus that is as large as an elven or dwarven kingdom is the Duchy of Aeterna-Mediae, located... Here!" She pointed towards one of the larger pieces of squared-off land on the map. "Aeterna-Mediae or called 'Midnight' is ten times the size that of Perros, and the most recent news was that Duchess Sveld is the current monarch. Even then, Midnight is not even among the top ten largest nations on Janus. Humanity however, compensates with its quite abundant amount of mercenary bands and the number of sovereign nations.

Back to the matter of Furore, the Duchy of Perros and the Cairose Dynasty are the only neighboring sovereign states that have direct access to Furore, as the latter has the advantage of the surrounding landscape protecting its borders, mountains block access to several neighboring nations." She gestured to half a dozen surrounding areas.

"Then how did the forces of Perros get past this pass here?" I pointed towards a small gap between the illustrations of mountains connecting Perros to Furore. "I would assume that would be a major stronghold for the forces of Furore to hold off against any enemy attack."

"I don't know anything about that, only that I know that the Perrosians had managed to take over a sixth of Furore, and that information was from six months ago." She shrugged, moving a lock of her raven hair from her face. "The Perrosians left behind a trail of bodies, and destroyed towns and cities in their wake..."

 **[Quest Alert!]**

 **[Picking Sides]  
[Objective: (Furorean Side) Assist the Kingdom of Furore in the war effort and push back the forces of the Duchy of Perros from Furorean lands.]  
OR  
[Objective: (Perrosian Side) Assist the Duchy of Perros in the war effort and ****conquer the rest of Furore lands.]**

 **[Time Limit: Two Years]  
[Rewards: (Furorean Side) - +Title of Nobility, +100 REP to Kingdom of Furore, -100 REP to Duchy of Perros, +10,000,000 EXP, +$5,000,000]  
OR  
[Rewards: (Perrosian Side) - +Ruling Over Furorean Lands, +Title of Nobility, +100 REP to Duchy of Perros, -100 REP to Kingdom of Furore, +10,000,000 EXP, +$5,000,000]  
[Failure: Two Enemy Nations, Wanted Poster, -100 REP to Duchy of Perros and Kingdom of Furore]  
[Do You Wish To Accept?]  
[Y/N]**

...I'm obviously going to choose the Furorean side, and I clicked **[Y]** , accepting the quest. Now there's the matter on how to assist the Furorean side, I don't know of the location of the capital of Furore either.

"Rosalina," I said, catching her attention. "Do you know where the capital of Furore is?"

She hummed, "It should be right here," She pointed at a star in the territory of Furore, with the word Tenebrae next to it. "I've never seen it myself, but I hear it's quite large."

"Thank you, I'll keep this information in mind, can you also tell me of the other races of the world?" I asked.

As she began speaking, I had a feeling that I was going to be in here for quite a while, best to pull up a chair right now as Rosalina tells me everything that she knew.

* * *

I was of course, right, as there was a vast amount of information that Rosalina held stored in her head, which was to my benefit as I learned more of Terros as a whole with its many races and kingdoms spread across the world in the course of three hours, it being already night.

The inhabitants of Terros spoke the language eloquently named 'Common' tongue, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was the main and only language of Terros, no, there were _thousands_ of different types of languages on this world. Ranging from the smooth-speaking Elvish to the rough and untranslatable Onish - the language of the Oni located far in the south from Furore. Terros was by far, more diverse than Earth ever could be.

There was also the matter of mercenary bands - which are common in the world of Terros considering the constant warring that the world has - that range from a small group of incredibly skilled and powerful individuals to army-sized bands ranging from a thousand to ten thousand soldiers. The former is usually composed of what Rosalina calls 'A-Class' or 'S-Class' individuals, most humans only ever reach A-Class as becoming worthy of S-Class requires scores of years of training. The class system is something that's as old as the world itself, is what Rosalina says, going from the lowest to highest classes in order. Beginning at F-Class, E-Class, D-Class, C-Class, B-Class, A-Class, S-Class, SS-Class, SSS-Class, and finally X-Class, each one is a measure of one's skill and prowess.

F-Class would be that of an peasant, E-Class and D-Class are standard soldiers worth twenty F-Class, C-Class are individuals worth twenty E-Class and ten D-Class, B-Class is worth twenty C-Class, A-Class being worth fifty B-Class, S-Class being worth one hundred A-Class, SS-Class being worth ten S-Class, SSS-Class worth fifty SS-Class, and X-Class finally being worth a hundred SSS-Class. Rosalina did say there was the fabled God-Class - as the name implies, the power of a god, - easily worth ten X-Class but there was never mentions of it in history where someone of such class interfered in a battle or war. Then again, it's highly unlikely that anyone will be able to pay for a God-Class considering mercenary bands of A-Class or S-Class are worth half of an average kingdom's treasury.

Then there was the events that happened yearly, some of them bringing fortune and happiness to the inhabitants of Terros, and some of them bringing untold amounts of death and destruction wherever it shines its influence upon. A few examples would be the Blood Moon, occurring every ten years, the Blood Moon event brings forth swarms of orcs, demons, goblins, and other grotesque creatures to wreak havoc upon the settlements and nations of Terros for a full ten hours before ending. Another would be the Heaven's Rain of Tears, an event that happens annually, clouds with a gold hue rain pure drops of gold and those who are touched by the liquid is healed of all of their negative status effects, devastating wounds, severe poisons, and missing limbs or senses would be resolved easily by just one drop of the gold. Although, Heaven's Rain of Tears does not affect Terros as a whole unlike the Blood Moon, Heaven's Rain of Tears only happens in select areas of Terros about the size of the town of Kyros, making the gold liquid incredibly expensive and sought after.

While such events are so utterly unbelievable that they're downright mythical, the different races on Terros were even more so. Races such as the Humans, Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves, Angels, Demons, Drakken, and some others are the 'main' races of Terros, being seen as the superior race compared to the 'lower' races such as the Orcs/Trolls, Nature Spirits, Elemental Spirits, Faeries, Oni, Boreasens (Lizard People), and hundreds of more 'lesser' races. To be honest, I think that such a classification between the races of Terros is a major disadvantage as every race has a genetic advantage over other races, and every single one of them is valuable regardless of race.

"Rosa," I asked Rosalina, 'Rosa' being my new nickname for her - much to her embarrassment and stuttering "Are you sure you're alright?" The reason why I was asking was that I could still see some semblance of pain and sadness behind the mirth in her eyes.

"I-I'm fine." She waved off my concern as she examined a scroll.

"...No, you're not." I pushed. "You're still in pain, you have to accept their deat-!"

I was cut off as Rosa slapped me, the sound echoing in the empty library, it causing my head to jerk to the side as I held my cheek in shock, she still had her hand raised with it in the gesture of an open palm/hand, she glared at me with tears gathering in her eyes.

"You don't understand!" She yelled at me, and I winced. "So many of my friends, even some members of my family! Dead!"

I turned towards Hal, whom was standing alert. "Hal, leave us, go patrol the outskirts of the village." He nodded, and promptly left.

I turned back towards Rosalina, still glaring at me, tears streaming down her face. "I do understand your pain Rosa, I truly do." She made another move to slap me but I caught her wrist mid-drop.

"Let me go!" She scowled and struggled against my hold over her wrist, "You don't understand at all! You'll never feel the pain like I d-!"

"ROSALINA!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, cutting her off and stopping her struggling. "I do understand, okay? I've lost friends, some of them being killed right in front of me, I've lost family, both my father and mother dying. Such unbearable pain, my teammates..." Even Simmons, the dick was still a good guy on the inside. "Rosalina, please... Do not let such sadness and depression remain within you, it can destroy you from inside." She looked up at me, anger no longer present, but mere sadness.

She wrapped her arms around me, burying her face into my abdomen as she cried, staining the Kevlar with her tears. "It's okay, let it all out." I gently ran a hand through her hair as she sobbed, we've oddly become rather close within a single day, but I disregarded that for the moment as I worked on soothing Rosa.

Soon enough, she untangled herself from me, removing her arms as she looked up at me, significantly happier than before but there was a small amount of sadness still behind that happiness, it's all up to time now to remove the last vestiges of sadness in her.

"T-Thank you Raphael..." She murmured in thanks, looking away with a blush.

"Of course Rosa, think of it as repayment for all the information you've given me." I told her, waving off her thanks.

* * *

 **(Rosalina's POV - A Few Seconds Prior)**

"T-Thank you Raphael..." I thanked him with a stutter, looking away in embarrassment.

"Of course Rosa, think of it as repayment for all the information you've given me." He said, as I continued looking away from the insufferably handsome and helpful man in front of me.

Raphael D'Angelo... An enigma, you've done more to my heart than any other boy or man has did in months, you've captured my heart in less than a day, perhaps we were destined to be together with this warm sensation in my chest intensifying over time as I stand next to you. I should proclaim my love for you, knowing that like many other men on this world, you will have more than one lover and I will be the one to claim the first position, as your... _head wife_ before the others.

Oh by Seraphine... I've become a love-struck girl, hopelessly in love with the man before me, something that I swore to myself that I'd never become, yet my promise to myself was broken so easily at the mere sight of this man...

My head snapped towards him as he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder, allowing him to see my blushing face as I turned towards him with the the contact.

* * *

 **(Raphael's POV)**

I looked into the eyes of Rosalina as she stared back at me with those cerulean orbs of hers, and I very clearly saw the restrained love in them - something that surprised me greatly, I had taken back what I thought, we've gotten _too_ close in a single day. Is it possible that it's this Gaia woman's influence that's speeding up the process of Rosalina's feelings for me? Are the feelings she has even real right now? So many questions yet so few answers to them, I'll have to bring this matter to attention with Sera when I get into contact with - soon, cause my heart is starting to flutter as well.

I panicked as Rosalina closed in on me, closing her eyes and her luscious lips coming awfully close to my own. "W-Wait!" I halted her, and she opened her eyes, visibly hurt at my denial. "This is far far too fast Rosa! I'd at least like to know you better a bit more!"

"I-I want you now though..." She said, cooing as the restrained love in her eyes was released. "You so easily captured my heart... We were destined to be together."

"I-I do not deny that Rosa, but please, be patient, let us get to know each other more!" I insisted, putting her at arms length, and she gave me that adorable pout of hers.

"Fine~!" She said, thankfully giving up. "But I will be your first wife!"

I reeled back at those words, "Ah...Er, 'first wife'?" I asked, to be sure I had heard her correctly.

"Yes! First wife!" She repeated, with no shame at all from saying those words loudly. "I'm well aware that you will have more than just one wife Raphael, and there are many more women out there that are better than me in every way, but I will be your lover first before any of them!"

"I..." I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Fine... Rosalina, I promise to be yours, and for you to be my first."

I stifled my chuckling at the small jump and cheer she did, she was quite happy at being promised to me. Then again, the situation was increasingly becoming odder for me the more I thought about it, within less than a day, this woman fell in love with me. Sure - I saved her from being raped - but I doubt that would so easily cause her to love me at first sight, and even if the latter was an actual thing it'd take a long period of time for her feelings to develop for me. I am most definitely bringing up this situation with Sera as soon as I return to the Hub and contact her, I should also probably begin training Rosalina in some form of combat, I don't wish to leave her undefended after all.

"Rosa, can you fight, at all?" I asked her, needing to know what she knows in terms of battle, and she shook her head, "Well, I sort-of expected that."

"Why do you ask?" She inquired.

"Well, I don't want you to be able not to fight." I replied. "So I'll - along with Hal - most likely be teaching you how to fight, and wield weapons."

"Oh, well I'll handle whatever you have to throw at me!" She said excitedly, and I chuckled, wondering if she could keep up the enthusiasm once I begin our training sessions. "I want to be worthy of your love!"

"Usually it'd be the man saying it, not the woman, but whatever." I shrugged, "We'll begin tomorrow my dear, but for now, get some rest."

She nodded and turned to leave but stopped. "You and your companion don't have anywhere to stay though..." She said to me, and I did realize we had nowhere to stay.

"We'll just sleep in the library," I told her.

"Nonsense!" She shook her head, as if what I had sense was unbelievable. "You are to be my husband, so you'll be sleeping with me, while your companion sleeps in my spare room!"

"I-uh," I gave up, there was no denying this woman as I followed her out the library doors. "Very well..."

Luckily, Hal just happened to be standing in front of library after his patrol, and he followed us immediately, after I of course informed him of my predicament with Rosalina - something that I swore I saw his lips turn up a bit at. We soon reached Rosalina's home, it wasn't overtly large nor was it small, it was... Average to say the least, but looked quite homey with one story.

"Welcome to your future home my dear soon-to-be husband." She spread open her arms in a welcoming gesture with a warm smile to match, and I ran a hand down my face once again in embarrassment, this woman was going to be the death of me, I can already tell. "Please follow me to your rooms."

It was indeed homey inside as well, with us passing by a table with four chairs on each side, a counter with some wooden kitchen utensils along with a pot, soon going down a small hallway that had three doors, one on the left, right, and end of the hallway, and she stopped at the one on the left first and opened it to reveal a small bed with a equally small table next to it with a candle on a metal pan(?) and with one window revealing the world outside.

"This will be your room Mister Greene." She gestured with her hand, I do hope it is to your tastes.

"It is certainly better than sleeping on a tree branch or on the grass or dirt." He replied, walking in and removing his cloak, and I was surprised at him freely speaking - he was becoming more and more human as time passes.

"Oh-Uh, well... That's good, I guess?" She said, uncertainly, before continuing on as she closed the door to the room that was now Hal's. "This room is mine and now yours Raphael," She opened up the door to reveal a room with a cot that was around the size of a queen's sized bed one, a wardrobe, a mirror, some other necessities but that was it, no window unlike Hal's room. "I'll be taking off my clothing, you're free to watch~." She teased me, slowing taking off her bodice, revealing her bare chest to me as I ogled her firm, ample chest in front of me. "Enjoying the show~?" Rosalina said, her voice soft like silk, until she was fully stripped down only to what looked like a mix between a loincloth and panties. "Are you not going to remove your clothing? It'd be difficult to sleep with that attire of yours Raphael." She asked, running a finger down my Kevlar-covered chest, and I sighed.

"Of course I won't sleep with this, it'd be uncomfortable as hell." I told her, and used my inventory functions to remove the armor and the clothing of my upper body along with my boots - now it was her turn to ogle me as she ran a finger down my toned body received from years of training with Special Weapons and Tactics, leaving me only in my matte-black trousers.

"Oh my~" She whispered, looking me up and down, and I sighed again - something that's becoming a part of my vocabulary.

"Let's just go to bed Rosa, and please, just cuddling only." I asked/begged, I was too tired to deal with her advances in bed and could only ask her not to do so.

As I laid down on the surprisingly soft mattress, Rosalina was already hugging my side, my arm being in-between her breasts as she used me as a body pillow. I didn't care much for the rather-arousing feeling as I allowed myself to sleep, throwing the linen sheets over us as I accepted my current predicament and wrapped an arm around Rosalina.

First day on Terros and I'm already sleeping with a woman, I dread to think of the future now if this is going to be a common thing...

* * *

 **(Divine Realm of Seraphine)  
** **(Third Person POV - Elsewhere...)**

Seraphine, the patron goddess of Furore watched the sleeping pair that is Raphael D'Angelo and Rosalina Surrexerunt through a small cloud that showed their image with interest and a little jealously, the cloud being powered by the pure magical powers of the divine world(s). Seraphine certainly had the looks of a goddess as she had blue eyes as pure as the sky and pure blonde hair that was waist-length held in a ponytail with a gold hairband, her beauty being reinforced by the golden circlet around her head that had emeralds hanging off it. Her form was curvaceous and voluptuous, and breasts that would be eye-catching to any male in the world and many females to start questioning their sexuality as she was quite tall, standing at 6'4, not as tall as Raphael's 6'5 but still tall regardless.

She sat in front of the small cloud showing the sleeping couple because of her interest in Raphael, although, she did start feeling a small twinge of jealously at the back of her mind seeing Raphael sleep with Rosalina, she quickly squashed that feeling and returned to examining Raphael. This was mainly due to his sudden appearance in her sphere of influence - i.e. Furore - and odd weapons and clothing, it'd be an understatement to say that she was curious of him.

" ** _Just who are you Raphael D'Angelo_...?** " She murmured to herself. " _ **And why do you cause my heart to flutter so**_ **?** "

What Seraphine didn't know was that she was one of the destined lovers of Raphael, decreed by Gaia herself as Raphael was one of the four prophesied 'special' Gamers chosen by Gaia herself to be given extra privileges to being a Gamer much like Michael Nobles and Gabriel Polaris.

Raphael's life has certainly gotten more interesting than his one on Earth.

* * *

 **AN: For your information, I was inspired by Re:Gamer to do a world like Terros what-with its various races, magic, gods, and classifications of their warriors. I recommend you go check out the story made by the guy - Akallas von Aerok.**


	3. Arc 1: Combat Training, Hub, Admittance

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - Continent of Janus - Kingdom of Furore - Kyros Village)  
(Raphael's POV)**

 **You have slept on a comfortable surface!  
100% of all HP and MP are recovered! Minor and Major Negative Status Effects removed!**

I blinked repeatedly to rid myself of my drowsiness as I heard the chirping of birds coming from outside Rosalina's house, with the mention of the latter, she was still clinging to my arm with her breasts wrapped around it, and one of her legs was over mine. She looked quite peaceful as she snuggled into my arm, as if the deaths of over half her village didn't happen at all just yesterday, something that I'm wishing didn't happen as well.

I caressed Rosalina's cheek with the back of my hand gently and carefully, as to not wake her, while I may be denying her advances it does not necessarily mean I do not have an attraction towards her. She's a stunning woman with incredible strength if her bear-hugs were any indication, she just needed a way to channel that strength to protect herself, if Rosalina is to be my wife as she says she wants to be then I want her to be able to protect herself as I cannot always be there for her nor can I allow her to be harmed.

I stopped my hand the moment she began murmuring, slowly opening her eyes to reveal her beautiful cerulean ones, eventually noticing my hand before meeting my eyes, to which she gave me a heartwarming smile.

"Mm, good morning Raphael~" She said, drowsily with a yawn.

"Good morning Rosa," I returned, moving my hand away from her face.

I gave an internal sigh of relief as she sat up, allowing the circulation in my arm to return now that it was no longer trapped between her breasts and arms. Although, that relief was soon cut short as I got a full view of her stretching right in front of me, her chest being pushed forward as she held her arms up, with them bouncing at the action. It wasn't long before Rosalina spotted me ogling her body, and she gave me a teasing smirk, and purposely made her chest more pronounced.

"Like what you see?" She asked, placing her arms behind her head, and I felt my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"Er-I-uh," I stuttered, the only reason why I wasn't like this the previous night was because I had the thought of sleeping on my mind at the time, rather than Rosalina's _assets_.

She laughed, a sound so beautiful to my ears. "You'll see more of this in the future Raphael." She patted my cheek, and I scowled at her teasing. "Now, you said something about training?"

I rubbed my temples in exhaustion, "Right, get dressed, and meet me out in front." I told her, throwing my feet over the side of the bed, equipping my only set of clothes and armor.

Walking out the door, I was coincidentally met by Hal, - whom was wrapping his cloak around himself - him happening to open the door at the same time I had opened mine. He gave me a nod before walking down the hall towards the front door, opening it and closing it as he left. It was quite odd, honestly, and here I thought he was a mindless drone with only the most basic of orders in mind, but it appeared I was wrong.

Following after him as I drew my trusty Sig Sauer, I did not stop for breakfast considering that hunger didn't come upon me yesterday nor today, deducing that food is now irrelevant in my life. Opening the door, I was met with a chilling breeze, fortunately my fully-clothed body protected me from the cold, unfortunately I didn't have my balaclava on and it was quite freezing. If it wasn't for the fact that this wasn't Earth, I would've wanted an estate here, cause I'm willing to bask in the cold rather than in the scalding sun.

"Hal," I greeted my companion, and he gave me another nod. "You'll be assisting me in training Rosa."

"Of course, it shall be done." He complied, pulling his bow over his shoulder. "Any area of training in particular?"

"Train her in archery first." I told him, after a second of contemplating. "Then whatever free time you have not training her in that area use to train her with knives."

"Very well then..."

With Hal covering those areas of her training, I'll introduce her to firearms, blunt weaponry, and Krav Maga, she'll be a mix of Hal's Ranger class and my SWAT class and it'll hopefully change her own class as well. Although, when that'll happen is something I do not know, unfortunately, but it will make Rosalina stronger both physically and mentally.

"Raphael," I tuned back into the real world as Rosalina called out to me. "I'm ready for this training of yours."

Her current clothing wasn't exactly the best for the training I'm going to be putting her through, a forest green bodice different from yesterday's yellow and a dress flowing to her ankles was present on her body, definitely not the most practical of clothing but it'll have to do cause I very much doubt she has anything different from whatever she's wearing now.

"Rosa," I said carefully. "Are you sure you want to wear _that_ during our training sessions?"

She looked confused, tilting her head to the side. "What do you mean?" She asked, looking down at her clothes. "I think this is quite fitting, thank you very much."

"It's just... Those clothes will be dirtied during our training sessions, are you sure you don't have any other clothing that's expendable or easy to clean?" I eyed her dress, something that can easily be torn should she trip.

"I'll be fine Raphael," She waved off my concerns. "I don't care much for this set of clothing anyhow, they are just that, clothing. It'll be okay if they get torn or dirtied."

I rose a brow, "Very well then, first, we'll introduce you to my weapons." I told her, presenting my M1911 to her in both hands. "This is a gun, it's like a... Much more advanced bow."

"But it's smaller than any bow I've ever seen, and there is no string as well." She ran a hand across the firearm, "How can it possibly do as much harm as a bow could?"

"You do remember what happened to that bandit archer when I killed him with this weapon, right?" I asked her, considering that I shot the man point-blank in the head right in front of Rosalina.

A look of recognition dawned on her face, "That's what it was..." She murmured, looking at the M1911 in a new light. "Can you show me how it works?"

"Well..." I trailed off, looking at my pistol, I was running low on ammunition and I couldn't resupply in this world without a workbench, but the puppy-dog eyes Rosalina was giving me convinced me to show her. "Okay, see that wooden post over there?" I pointed at it, being fifty feet away from us, and she nodded.

I aimed down the sights, marking the post as my target, slowing my breathing as I did so. I didn't want to exactly miss during a demonstration in front of Rosalina, so I wanted the best chance of my shot hitting the target with accuracy as perfect as possible. I pulled the trigger, and the familiar bang of the weapon sounded off, the wooden post's top suddenly having a mini-shower of splinters as the bullet impacted the wood.

I lowered the M1911, its barrel smoking, and I turned towards Rosalina. She had a clear look of awe on her face as her head turned back and forth between the wooden post and my M1911, trying to comprehend what had just happened, and I smirked at her expression.

"T-That's incredible!" She exclaimed, eyeing the gun in my hand. "I'll be training with that?"

"Not with this weapon in particular, no." I told her, and she pouted as I holstered the pistol. "You'll be training with... this!" I brought out my Sig Sauer 556, holding it up flat on both of my hands, presenting it to Rosalina, and her eyes shone in excitement. "This has much more power than the other one, holding more ammunition than the M1911 as well."

I brought the Sig Sauer up close, aiming down the ACOG sights at another wooden post, slowing my breathing once more as I pulled the trigger, a much louder bang sounded off and the wooden post's top exploding into splinters. While it is a clear waste of ammunition, I suppose it's worth it to prepare Rosalina against the horrors of war, even if she had already experienced one of its effects just recently. Even then, she will never be ready to take another human being's life, she will need time to cope when she takes her first life.

"Here, try it out, and be careful of the recoil." I advised her, handing over my rifle to her.

She held the rifle awkwardly for a moment, before righting it. "L-Like this?"

"Yes, like that." It was honestly quite amusing to see Rosalina handling her first gun. "Now, aim down the sights at that tree over there."

She did exactly that, trying her best to imitate my stance from earlier, fortunately she was a quick learner and managed to do it after the second try. While I don't have high expectations for her first try with a gun, I did at least expect her to hit the tree trunk one out of ten times.

"Once you're ready, open fire." I waited patiently as she hesitated with her finger over the trigger.

Eventually, Rosalina did pull the trigger and the first shot was fired, but it appeared that my warning wasn't enough for her as the recoil sent the gun spinning out of her hands, she gave a startled yelp as it did so. Although, looking at the tree, it was indeed struck by the 5.56mm round and I was unsure as to whether or not if the shot was pure luck, or that she had an untapped potential for firearms that would make her an excellent gunslinger.

"That hurt..." Rosalina whined, but thankfully her already impressive-strength prevented any serious harm. "I should've listened to your warning."

"It's fine Rosa," I soothed her. "I've had something similar happen to me when I first handled a gun." Picking up the rifle, I handed it back to her. "Now, try again but be mindful of the recoil this time."

She nodded, taking the rifle from me and took her previous stance, aiming at the tree once more. I watched with bated breath, seeing if this time that she'll hit this target without the rifle flying out of her hands. As she pulled the trigger, the rifle jolted up back in her hands but didn't go flying off this time, and the tree trunk was impacted by the round a second later, which proved to me that she had a natural affinity for firearms, as odd as it is with the technological level of Terros.

"Great job Rosa!" I congratulated her, and she beamed with pride. "You managed to hit the target twice!"

"Can I continue training?" She asked me, it appeared that she got addicted with firearms already.

"Of course, continue until the magazine is empty." I complied. "Then, I'll continue with your weapons training."

With that, Rosalina continued firing the rifle, with myself counting each shot that hit its target. Eventually, the familiar click sounded off as she fired off all twenty rounds, seventeen of them hitting their mark with the other three going far-off. She pouted as she looked over her rifle, sad at the ammunition running out, ruining her fun. I was quite impressed, she far-exceeded my expectations of her, I should most likely get her a gun from the Hub when I return.

"On the side of the rifle, there's a button, click it and the magazine will eject." I told her, and she tilted her rifle to the side. "Yeah, that button." She clicked it, and the magazine dropped out, surprising her as it fell to the ground while trying to catch it at the same time.

"How does it... recharge?" She asked me, leaning down and picking up the magazine.

I walked over, taking both the rifle and the magazine from her. "It doesn't 'recharge' as you put it, it reloads." Putting the empty magazine in my inventory and drawing a new one from my vest. "Put in a loaded magazine with these bullets." I pulled out a 5.56mm round from the magazine, showing it to her. "There's twenty in each magazine, and you have to ram it into the rifle like so." I demonstrated it by slamming the magazine into the Sig Sauer 556. "Now, our training in this area is done, we'll be moving onto your close range combat, particularly with weapons like clubs or maces."

"Aw..." She let out sadly.

"Don't worry, we'll train with firearms more, later on." I chuckled, "Now, pick up a tree branch." I drew out my baton, its energy side inactive as I did not want to accidentally harm her. "We'll see what you've got with melee combat."

She grabbed a tree branch, weighing it in her hand before deeming it fit for fighting against my titanium weapon, and got held it in front of her with both hands as she took an aggressive stance to me whilst I wielded my baton with one hand and twirled it around.

"Ready?" I asked her, eyeing her stance, and she nodded. "Begin!"

She didn't move, only holding her branch in front of her tilted sideways in a defensive way, and it was a wise move considering that she knew little about wielding weapons. I started off the battle by rushing forward at her, and she tensed up as I jabbed forward, she hastily moved to block it, just barely as the metal rod clashed against the wood. The wood cracked against the force applied to it, and Rosalina responded by shoving me backwards.

As I staggered backwards, she ran up to me with the intent of an overhead strike, she brought it down and I held my baton above me, the branch letting out a snap sound as it hit the baton. I slammed my palm into her abdomen whilst she focused on our clash, forcing her to double over in pain and release her hold. With her vulnerable before me, I took advantage of the fact by doing a series of rapid forward strikes along her body, but I held back as to not hurt her too much.

Eventually I stopped, and Rosalina hunched over, before slumping down and dropping her branch - with myself catching her before she fell onto the ground, I held her up as she breathed heavily, fortunately not unconscious.

"Are you okay Rosa?" I asked her in concern, "Did I go too hard on you?"

"N-No," She panted, "I-It's fine, if I'm to be able to fight, and this is what I must do everyday, then I'll do it."

"We'll stop for now, I'm not going to get you harmed any further." I picked her up bridal style, and I carried her over to a chair, laying her down in it. "We'll continue in a short bit, I want you to rest up."

As she leaned back into the chair and recovered, I examined the full extent of the damage inflicted upon her, and the injuries were only superficial at best, I would put her complete recovery at around a day or so. Her forehead was slick with sweat, I moved several strands of her raven hair away from her face, even in such a state she was still beautiful, the young woman that is completely in love with me for whatever reason would be willing to put herself through this training for my sake.

Eventually, her breathing was set at a steady pace, and the tired look in her eyes had lessened somewhat. She made a move to get up, but staggered briefly from her own sudden movement, and I caught her before she would fall to the ground again.

"Easy now," I told her. "I don't want you to push yourself if you're not fully recovered."

"I-I'm okay, I-I'm good..." She reassured me, but it sounded more as if she were reassuring herself. "L-Let's continue the training."

"If you say so, you were fairly decent at melee combat, but let's move onto hand to hand combat, Krav Maga in particular." I told her, letting go once she steadied herself. "Although, this area of training will be longer than the others."

I slipped into a Krav Maga stance, two hands in a claw-like gesture in front of me facing the other, moving back my right leg and onto its toes behind me and kept the other flat on the ground. "This is a basic Krav Maga stance, I want you to try your best to imitate me." She did so, taking some time to properly copy my stance.

"Now what?" She asked me, as she stood in front of me with the same stance as I.

"Imitate the moves I'll be doing, then we'll test it on a target." With that, I began a series of rapid jabs and kicks, Rosalina trying her best to keep up with me, before I stopped. "Now, what you can remember, do it." I told her, crossing my arms, this is more-or-less to see if she focuses on her legwork or her fists.

"Okay," She breathed, out before doing multiple kicks and punches, although there was more of the former.

Eventually, she stopped, breathing heavily - we'll have to work on her stamina as well. "W-Was that good?" She panted.

"It was, but we'll need to work on it some more, your legwork in particular." I replied. "I'll be pointing a unloaded gun at you, try and disarm me."

I drew my M1911 out of its holster, holding it with both hands in front of me as I dropped its magazine, pointing it at Rosalina as she froze up, no doubt being scared being in front of the barrel of the weapon that she now knew the effects of.

"Do not hesitate Rosa," I sternly said, and she unfroze. "I'm the only one with weapons such as these on this world, as far as I know, but I'd prefer it if you knew how to disarm someone of their weapon."

She cautiously stepped forward, and grabbed hold of the barrel, and pulled back towards her but I held strong as she struggled to take my pistol from me. I pulled back, causing her to stagger forward as she had hold of the barrel, I brought up the pistol to her forehead as she stopped but a few centimeters from the barrel. I pulled the trigger, and an audible click was heard, and Rosalina flinched at the sound.

"Nice try, but if I had been someone else, you'd be dead." I jokingly said, and she gave me a light glare. "Right, what you did wrong was that you stood in front of the gun while trying to disarm it - admittedly, a gunman wouldn't let you get that close - but I'll show you the correct way to disarm me." I flipped the M1911 in my hand and held it by the barrel, offering it to her. "Take it and point it at me."

She daintily wrapped her hand around the firearm, grasping it with her hand soon thereafter, and she raised it against me as I nodded.

"Ready?" I asked her, and she nodded. "Alright, try and remember what I do after this."

Considering my close proximity to her, the barrel of the M1911 was pressed against my forehead, which is perfect for a disarmament technique that I have in mind. She gave me a confused look as I slowly got down to my knees, my hands raised in surrender, but she played along and had the barrel of the gun follow me down. However, before she could even blink, I brought one arm up to hers and pushed it while I bolted my other arm forward, pushing against the M1911 in the opposite direction of the way I'm pushing her other arm. The pistol flew out of her hands and into mine, her hand still clasped onto a weapon that was no longer there, and she blinked in surprise.

"How did you do that?" She asked in amazement, lowering her now empty hand.

"Simple, I 'surrendered' to you and got to my knees, obviously, the average gunman would most likely do what you had done and point the weapon at my head if I was in such a position." I cocked back the barrel of the M1911 with an audible click. "What I did was I used one hand to move your arm away and used the other hand to push the pistol in the opposite direction that I was pushing your arm in, it significantly slackened your grip on it, enough for me to take it away from you."

I offered the weapon back to her, "Let's try it again with a different disarmament this time." She grabbed hold of the pistol, taking it from me and put the barrel back at my head once more.

Raising both of my arms in surrender whilst standing, I stepped toward Rosalina, past her defenses as the M1911 was now being pointed over my shoulder, I wrapped my arm over hers with myself twisting around and throwing her over my shoulder. She landed on the ground with an oomph with her arm still locked with mine, I twisted it and she yelped in pain as she dropped the M1911 as I forced her to lay on her front.

Seeing that she had enough, I released her arm as she laid groaning on the ground, perhaps I had taken it _too_ far with her. She eventually turned over so that she had laid on her back, and she panted.

I offered a hand for her to pick herself up on, and she took it after a moment of deep breaths, staggering as she got back onto her feet she wiped her forehead of sweat, showing more exhaustion now.

"I-I think I'm done for now..." She murmured, exhausted, leaning heavily against me.

"That's fine Rosa," I patted her back, wrapping an arm around her and leading her to back to her house. "We'll have to skip out on the next segment of your training for now."

"I-I'm sorry..." She murmured, eyes downcast.

"No-no-no!" I quickly spoke up, finding her sadness to be heart-wrenching. "It's fine Rosa, you've gotten far on the first day of training, we'll continue your training later."

"I won't disappoint you next time Raphael..." She told me, looking directly into my eyes, burning with determination. "I will work hard to fight alongside you, I don't want to be weak anymore, not since the... raid."

"I know Rosa, I know..." Opening the front door to her house, I carried her in. "I look forward to that day, _yet also dread it._ " I muttered that last part to myself, putting her in danger is something that I have to be aware of, and she didn't respond.

Walking down the hallway, boots pounding on the wooden floor, I opened _our_ room door, gently laying her on the bed. She looked up at me tiredly, and I scratched the back of my head as her eyes drooped, it appeared that her exhaustion caught up to her. Although, she had exceeded my expectations of her, already I can tell that she will become quite the warrior on the battlefield should she complete my own training and Hal's.

Right, with the mention of Hal, I should probably go to him cause he's most likely waiting to train Rosalina, a shame I couldn't oversee her first experience with a bow and a dagger but I suppose that I'll see it soon enough tomorrow.

I turned backed to the now-sleeping Rosalina, "Rest well Rosa... You'll need it."

With that, I carefully walked back from whence I came, closing the door just as careful as I had been walking, wouldn't want to disturb Rosalina's sleep now, would I? Discarding my thoughts for now, I walked back down the hallway, coincidentally, Hal had also happened to enter the house at the same time as I had left Rosalina in bed.

"Ah, Hal." I greeted, raising my hand up to do so. "You most likely noticed us going inside."

He nodded, "I noticed, what had happened?"

"...I may have pushed her too far with the training, she's resting in the room now." I pointed my thumb back at the room, "She'll train with you tomorrow."

"Roger, I will patrol the outskirts of the town." He told me, turning around and going out the door. "The threat of the bandits returning is still possible."

I hummed, he was certainly right about that, the bandits could return full force with twice or hopefully not three times the amount of the raiders that they had with the recent one, and its a threat that'll require some help from the locals here. Now that I think about it, other than Rosalina, I've seen none of the villagers come up to me which is somewhat surprising considering that I sort-of expected some form of thanks from them, I'll have to investigate...

 **Alert! Message from [Moderator: Sera Alyssos] received!**

Never mind then, my investigation'll have to be put on hold, looking at text-box in front of me.

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Hey there! Sorry, but I had forgot to tell you of a few more features of your Gamer powers, I'm bad at my job. ;_;)  
** **[R: Y/N?]**

Clicking **[Y]** , I was presented with a holographic-type of a keyboard, hovering in front of me, and I tapped my response to her.

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (What features would those happen to be?)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Ah, you've gotten the hang of replying with the message feature of the Gamer, good! Anyhow, the features I forgot to tell you would be that of this message feature that we're using right now, a few skills relating to returning to the Hub and ID Create, and some skills you'll receive when reaching certain levels. With that out of the way, do you need any help?)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (One problem I actually have, concerning... relationships, romantic ones in particular...)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Oh...OH! You've already gotten a love interest? Congratulations are in order!)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (Yeah... Is it a Gamer thing that she's fallen in love with me so fast?)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (It is... It's a common thing for all male Gamers, their first lovers being influenced by Gaia directly to be their soulmate, so to speak, do not expect it to be easier for future lovers Raphael.)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (Why does Gaia... Influence them? Also, you say 'lovers' as if I'm going to have more, how would you know?)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (No one knows for sure, but some would say it's because Gaia prefers to have more Gamers, thus the reason for harems to be commonly seen among male Gamers. The most prominent would be the Nobles Family, they hold the most territory and support forces, yet they aren't the most powerful. Besides, there's no avoiding harems with you guys, especially when it comes to worlds like yours.)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (...I've seen the word 'Nobles' quite a lot recently, who are they exactly?)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Hmm, I suppose you wouldn't know. Well, the Nobles family is headed by Michael Nobles, one of the few remaining beta-testers of the Gamer powers long before the version of ours. He's lived for millennia, far longer than I have, and I believe he has sixteen wives with about... nineteen children. He holds a few galaxies under him, along with quite the large amount of money, in the trillions. I know this seems like a lot but half a dozen other Gamers hold the same standing as he does, if not more than him, you'll find out in the leaderboards when you return back to the Hub. Anything else?)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (Yeah, how do I return to the Hub? I need to resupply.)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Oh, that's simple! Simply think of 'Return to Hub' and you'll return, quite easy if you think about it. If you're planning on returning back to the Hub, I can meet up with you if you wish.)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (Thanks, and you don't have to wait for me, it isn't necessary.)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Nonsense! I'm your overseer, and it is my pleasure to help you!)**

 **[Raphael D'Angelo]: (...I suppose I'll see you soon.)**

 **[Moderator: Sera Alyssos]: (Ciao!)**

I sighed, that conversation was... interesting, to say the least. Although, now I know how to return to the Hub, along with some useful information that was provided. I entrust the safety of Kyros to Hal whilst I'm gone, hopefully the bandits don't retaliate during my absence.

Here goes... **(** **Return to Hub)**

I tensed and shut my eyes as a blinding white light enveloped me, and I no longer felt solid ground beneath me, I would've panicked had it not been for Gamer's Mind allowing me to remain calm at my current predicament. However, the light still pierced through my closed eyes, fortunately I felt my feet land on actual ground and the light faded away.

Opening my eyes, I came upon the sight of the Hub, spiraling towers, stalls, and multiple Gamers with - what I can assume - their respective companions. The breathtaking sight will certainly never get old, but I tuned back in as someone had tapped me on the shoulder. Turning around, I came face to face with the smiling face of Sera Alyssos.

"Hello!" She cheerfully greeted me, "Raphael, how was your first day in your campaign world?"

"Er, it was certainly full of action, first day in and I had to kill a few bandits." I shrugged, "Although, I did meet my first... 'love interest', if you can say that..."

"Oo!" Her eyes shone with interest, "Tell me all about her."

"She has her... quirks, and she's certainly beautiful." I shook my head, "I've been teaching her some things, it came with the cost of some of my few limited resources, thus my reason to be here. Also, to possibly get another companion."

She hummed, "What's the lucky lady's name?"

"...Rosalina Surrexerunt."

"Interesting name, anyhow, you don't have to keep buying companions, there is a different category for supporting Gamers in the field, and you can use ID Create as a far better training method." She looked at me with a raised brow. "Now that I mention it, how did you exactly teach her - and with what?"

"I've been teaching her how to use firearms, martial arts, and blunt weaponry just outside her house, merely at the cost of my own ammunition." I replied, waving my hand in a dismissive gesture. "Besides, what's this about a different type of support unit? I could use it right about now, considering the situation in my 'campaign' world, as you put it."

"Hmm, well... Support units are like companions, in a way. They don't have individual names, and their levels and stats do not change, locked permanently unless you 'upgrade' them. Come with me, let's get you a support unit!" She gestured for me to follow her and began walking, myself following soon thereafter. "Cause of their differences compared to companions, they're significantly cheaper, thus support units come in groups of four or more, with a few somewhat rare cases having less than that."

"Uhm, since the category is 'support', what classes are there exactly?" I asked, curious to know more as we walked towards what I can only assume is the marketplace.

"They can vary from military-trained field medics to fireteams of enhanced super-soldiers, mystical packs of beasts, and even a group of minor gods - if you can afford it, that is." She looked back at me with a smirk. "Of course, with the funds you have on-hand right now, you can buy a four-man team of Combine Overwatch Soldiers at best. However, with the campaign world you have, they'll be quite useful to you even if they're not all that good at dealing with... certain threats."

"How much?" She was right, soldiers armed with firearms would definitely be invaluable on Terros.

"If I remember correctly, they should cost about..." She tapped her finger on her chin. "Nineteen thousand."

I nearly did a spit-take, they were worth six times the amount Hal was worth, and Sera saw my incredulous expression directed at her.

"I know, I know, far more expensive than the companion you had bought, but I probably should've told you that the first item of each different category is fifty percent off, your companion was twice the amount of whatever you had bought him for. This also means that the Combine Overwatch Soldiers are worth nine thousand-five hundred." She stopped as we finally came upon the marketplace.

"You're forgetting an awful lot of things Sera." I frowned at her, and she chuckled embarrassedly.

"Yes I am..." She looked away bashfully. "This usually doesn't happen when I help new Gamers, never mind that now, let's get you those support units."

"Right," I said blandly, following her into the marketplace.

As we passed by the usual stalls that I had seen before during my first visit to the Hub, Sera eventually stopped before a stall that had a semi-holographic display of four mannequins in what I can assume is a combat stance. Much like many other stalls, it was unique in its design that I did not unfortunately point out before. The stall had multiple emblems, symbols, and other various signs of militarily groups, spartan helmets, criss-crossing knives, and I even saw the famous SAS logo and motto.

" _Who Dares, Wins_." I muttered to myself, and Sera turned to me.

"Yep! The famous SAS motto!" She said, before turning back to the panel for the support unit list. "Take a look at the...stock."

She tapped on it, and the mannequins changed to four medieval-esque archers, recurve bows, quivers, cloaks, and leather armors. The visible cost of them was at **$4,500** , just a little over the cost of Hal, but they were under his level, each of them being at Level 16. While they would certainly be useful to work alongside Hal, it just wasn't what I needed with my situation in Terros. Sera clearly saw my disinterest and continued through the list.

This continued on for quite a bit, while the list became more interesting as it went up in price for each group I still couldn't find myself satisfied with any of them. Although, she eventually stopped upon one of the 'rare' cases among support units, they appeared as two members of the United States Marine Corps, soldiers that I'm familiar with. However, they did seem a bit different in terms of their equipment, most notably, their helmets...

They looked 'futuristic' in their design, where the usual lightweight helmet was, there was a metallic-like helmet with a complete faceplate instead. Where an eye would be was a light blue glowing eye, however, another yet smaller eye was next to it in the top corner, and if I were to guess I'd say it was a built-in NVG set, the helmet - barring the faceplate - was covered with a shemagh matching the standard tan, gray, and green of the Army Combat Uniform.

Other than the headgear, the rest of their attire were standard for a United States Marine, however, it'd be safe to say they were recon or marksmen as they wielded M14s' fashioned into more of a sniper-rifle type along with their vests looking a bit bare. I did notice that they had Colt M1911s' holstered at their hips, along with what I can assume is a utility knife. The two were perfect for Terros, considering my price-range, costing **$20,000** , with the discount however it'd be **$10,000**.

It was fortunate, considering that I only had **$21,000** right now, and I needed some of said money for ammunition for my weapons.

"Sera, I'll take those two." I stopped her from continuing the list, "They're perfect for my situation, as I can see it."

She hummed, "Good choice, tap here then!" She moved away from the list, and I stepped forward to purchase them.

 **Name: U.S. Recon Marine (2042)  
** **Race: Augmented Human (+5 STR, +5 INT)  
Class: United States Marine (+5 STR)  
Age: 27 (LOCKED)**

 **Level: 24 (LOCKED)**

 **HP (Health Points): 7,200/7,200 (2,400 HP regeneration per minute)  
MP (Mana Points): 5,400/5,400 (1,700 MP regeneration per minute)**

 **STR (Strength): 39** **(10 - 39 = 49)  
** **VIT (Vitality): 24** **(300 HP per point, 100 HP regeneration per point)  
** **AGI (Agility): 49  
** **INT (Intelligence): 31 (5 - 31 = 36)** **(150 MP per point)  
** **WIS (Wisdom): 17** **(100 MP regeneration per point)  
** **CHR (Charisma): 4  
** **LUC (Luck): 2  
** **Skill Points: 0**

 **Description: U.S. Recon Marine (2042) is as it implies in his name is a reconnaissance soldier, receiving augmentations and advanced training to deal with threats behind enemy lines. Of course, with advanced technology from the year 2042, their helmet provides targeting via laser designation to mark targets as a hit-box with their HUD - with assistance from satellites, obviously. Such a feature however, is mostly disabled unless one would have a satellite on hand, other than that their helmets provide night-vision and protection against the environment. Clad in tan, gray, and green camouflage with a vest with only the barest of essentials, wielding an M14 with an 18x scope and bipod along with a Colt M1911, these support units are perfect for sniper assistance or long-ranged combat.**

 **Cost: $10,000**

It was unfortunate that I couldn't find use of their target-markers, considering that I actually don't have a satellite at my disposal, but that was only a small part of their functions that wouldn't be able to be put in use. No matter, I tapped on the list, purchasing them as I saw my currency go down.

 **Currency: $11,000**

With that, two of the Recon Marines appeared before me, both having the same equipment and weaponry on hand as they stood, rigid, and they spoke in unison.

"Awaiting orders." ...Creepy, but expected considering that Hal was like this, at first.

"Follow me." I ordered them.

"Order acknowledged, following lead."

I turned towards Sera, "So, what now?"

She shrugged, "That's not up to me Raphael, I merely came here to help you, but you said you were going to resupply, right?"

"Right, right... Ammunition, almost forgot about that." I muttered to myself, "Let's find a ammunition stall then."

As I spun around on my heel, looking around for a stall for .45 ACP rounds and 5.56mm rounds as my two new support units and Sera followed me. Although, as I passed by a few Gamers, I noticed that some were staring at me with narrowed gazes, which was odd considering that my first visit here was me being ignored entirely by my fellow Gamers. For whatever reason that they were staring at me was something that I wished to know of.

"Hmm, how odd." Sera muttered from behind me, and I turned towards her with a raised brow.

"What's odd?" I asked her, continuing my stride.

"The way our fellow Gamers are staring at you is very concerning," She pondered, humming. "Doesn't matter, let's go find you this ammo!"

"Alright then..." I turned my gaze back forward, coincidentally an ammunition stall was in front of me as I did.

I stepped forward towards the stall, and the usual list appeared, with various names of different calibers appearing. There were some rounds I was not familiar with at all, and I even saw some 'Laser Rifle Cells' or 'Plasma Bolter Drums' among the list. However, those weren't important right now but they were notable enough for me to remind myself to thoroughly examine it later on when I have the appropriate funds. Eventually, I came upon the rounds I was looking for, sixty .45 ACP rounds worth exactly the amount it came in, and one hundred rounds of 5.56mm were worth **$100** , I suppose it's 'cheap'?

I had to make due with five hundred rounds of .45 ACP, and three thousand 5.56mm rounds, costing me **$3,500** for ammunition. It should be sufficient enough to last me for a while on Terros, considering that I had to let Rosalina use my firearms everyday, although, perhaps I should get her a gun of her own.

Fortunately, this stall wasn't completely focused on ammunition, there was a secondary tab that held firearms, yet the list wasn't as long as the ammo tab. A HK USP 45 would be ideal for her right now, considering that I bought five hundred rounds of .45 ACP, worth **$550**.

 **Currency: $7,950**

Nearly two-thirds of my funds were spent on my little trip back here to the Hub, I'd say it was well worth it, two more men assisting me in my efforts on Terros along with ammunition to last me for a while before I have to return to the marketplace. I eyed the three new items in my inventory, an image of .45 ACP and 5.56mm rounds and a USP 45, that's about it aside from Crowd Control, my own firearms, and baton.

"Sera," I turned towards said Gamer, "I'm just about done here, thanks for the help."

She leaned forward, arms behind her back. "No problem! It was my pleasure to help you!" She smiled cheerfully, "If you want to return back to your campaign then mentally think of ' **Return To Campaign World** ' then poof! A portal will appear!"

"Thanks, for all you've done Sera, I appreciate it." I truly did, I'd probably be lost as hell without her help.

"Like I said, no problem!" She repeated, holding the same cheer. "Although... I noticed you've been roughed up a bit, if you'd like another layer of protection use your own MP and focus it around your body, it should operate as a invisible shield of sorts."

I blinked, that could've been VERY useful had I known it before the raid on Kyros, avoiding unnecessary damage to my own armor and health. Still, I did as she told and attempted to focus my MP around my body - something that I realized I couldn't do... Shit. Regardless, I had to try, if I could do a fireball then I can make a goddamn mana shield around myself. If it works the same as a fireball, then I could try and mentally think up of a mana shield around myself.

 **(Mana Shield)** I mentally thought, and... nothing happened.

I turned back towards Sera, but I widened my eyes in surprise as I saw her fist coming straight at me, and I was far too slow to redirect it or block it. I flinched as her admittedly strong swing sent me reeling backwards.

"Agh," I held my nose in - suppressed pain? "What the hell was that for Sera?!"

She merely smirked, "You have a text-box appearing, right?"

I blinked in surprise at the text box appearing before me just as she had said.

 **-1 MS! (Mana Shield) Shattered!**

 **Through a special action, a new skill has been created!**

 **(Mana Shield) (Active/Passive) (Level: MAX) (MP Cost: 1 MP x Mana Shield Durability)**

 **Description: Mana Shield is a magic-user's best friend against physical and magical damage, the Mana Shield directly taking all the damage one would normally take from a blow to their HP. Of course, the Mana Shield uses the user's own MP to create said shield, one point of mana would equal one point of durability for the shield itself, it lasts indefinitely unless it's broken or harmed in anyway to lower the durability of the shield, be it from physical or magical attacks from outlying sources.**

 **Effects:  
+Defense Against Magical/Physical Attacks  
+Durability**

...Well, it certainly worked, and my anger dissipated as I realized that Sera punching me was to see the Mana Shield work. Although, I'd have preferred it to be done a different way, at the very least tell me first before doing so...

"You could've warned me ahead of time Sera." I murmured to myself, still somewhat irritated.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Still ever the bubbly character, "Besides, your Mana Shield works now, doesn't it?"

I sighed, "Yeah, you're right." Admittedly, I'm still a tad-bit aggravated at her behavior, but then again, her personality is all over the place. "Still though..." I shut up the moment her eyes shone with an immense power behind them, and an almost literal soul-crushing pressure came down upon me, it very suddenly became harder to breathe.

"Now, now, Raphael, if I am to be your overseer and pseudo-teacher then you know that I only want what's best for you." The power behind her eyes was still present, and my own primal instincts screamed at me to fight, flee, or submit, as long as the pressure was stopped. "Please, don't question my way of teaching you." The pressure stopped, and I breathed out a sigh of relief, that was... the power behind the millennia of experience and skills that Sera had, and I very much doubt that was even a small bit of her power that she had shown me.

"R-Right, lesson learned." I raised my hands up in surrender, shaking my head fervently, a reminder to never cross with Sera in the near-future.

What crossed my mind though, was how did my new recon units feel about that soul-crushing pressure? I turned towards said units, and they didn't look the least bit fazed at what had happened, although they did look tense - no doubt for combat against Sera considering her recent action against me. Disregarding that for the moment, I turned back towards Sera as she looked at me with a raised brow and crossed arms, the beautiful Norse(?) Goddess seemed interested in what I was doing.

"I'll-uh, I'll be going now Sera." I told her uncertainly, and she hummed.

"Of course, have fun!" She didn't even seem the least bit fazed about what had happened, returning back to her regular cheerful self.

 **Return To Campaign World**... A human-sized ovular portal appeared, the same one that Hal and myself had went through, except this time the other side was visible, and it was my previous location before porting back to here - the Hub.

Walking through it without nary a glance at Sera as I did so, the boots of the Recon Marines behind me followed close behind as well as I stepped through the portal. Lesson learned, never mess with Sera, not until I'm on her level that is, but until then, try and avoid combat of any way with her if possible.

I found myself once more in the house of Rosalina, exactly where I once was as I took a look at my surroundings, seeing in anything had changed whilst I was gone, and it was safe to say that nothing was altered in any way - so far.

" _Raphael_...?" A very drowsy voice said behind me, and I turned around, coming face-to-face with a tired Rosalina. "W-Who are these men with you?" She gestured lazily towards one of the Recon Marines.

I paused, choosing my words very carefully. "They're... some friends of mine that are here to stay and help, and they won't be going away anytime soon." I patted the back of one of the Recon Marines as they stared at Rosalina, unnerving her. "Besides, I've got a gift for you."

Any trace amount of exhaustion remaining immediately disintegrated in her eyes as she lit up, "You did?" She asked, eyes shining in excitement, "You didn't have to Raphael." She looked away abashed, and I rose an amused brow at the sudden change in temper.

"Well, I did!" I brought out the newly-bought pistol, presenting it to her. "This is the HK USP 45, it operates with the same caliber type as my M1911," I gestured for her to take it, "Here, think of it as a... early wedding gift." She smiled happily at that, gently and carefully reaching forward to take the weapon that was now hers.

"T-Thank you, Raphael..." She stared at her new weapon, as if it was an exotic item that the continent of Janus did not have - which was true, to my knowledge. "I'll take great care of it."

I nodded, "I know you will, because I'll be teaching you how to strip down and clean your weapon." I saw a brief flicker of horror cross her features, before it disappeared with a smile in its place.

" _Wonderful_ , more training..." She said in faux-happiness, and I chuckled, she was going to have nightmares from my teachings.

"Yes, more of the dreadful training." I patted her head, and she pouted.

Fortunately, the individual .45 ACP rounds came in magazine clips, thankfully something that I didn't have to buy separately with the ammunition. I brought out a magazine clip for her USP, handing it to her as she daintily grabbed it from my hand, loading it into her gun with some difficulty but had managed to do it. I'll have to eventually teach her about gun safety - something that I neglected to do in our first training session - to avoid any misfires or friendly fire.

"Once you show complete mastery of your pistol, then I'll get you a rifle or something along those lines." I brought out my Sig Sauer and gestured to it and the M14 in the hands of one of the Recon Marines. "But for now, let's help you with your small arms-work, tomorrow, that is."

"I can assume it will be hard to master this weapon?" She asked me, raising her USP up, pointed at the ceiling.

"Well, for the most part it'd be difficult to gain one hundred percent accuracy, so 'mastery' is actually just gaining a majority chance of hitting your target at the very least." I shrugged, it was my own way of 'mastery'. "However, it is easier to master firearms than any other type of weapon, so there is that."

She hummed, looking at her new weapon in interest.

"Other than that, I have some questions... about Kyros." I carefully watched her reaction to my asking.

"Oh," She seemed surprised, but other than that there was nothing noticeable about her reaction, unless there was the off-chance that she was an expert at hiding certain emotions. "Ask away Raphael! I'd be happy to answer any of your questions, as best as I can."

There was a reason I was watching her reactions, while it is very clear that Rosalina is a resident of Kyros, I noticed during the funeral that she seemed a bit... separated from the other locals of this village. That only arose questions in my mind as to why, at first, I chalked it up to her needing to cope with the death of her friend but she had came to Hal and myself soon after the burials with only a slight amount of sadness, which was a rather quick recover if she was actually depressed enough to avoid social interaction. There was also the fact that none of the remaining villagers from the raid were actually around, I haven't seen one of them after the burials, almost as if they were avoiding us...

Of course, it could just be me being paranoid, it is only the SECOND day after all, and the villagers could be coping with the deaths of their friends and/or family their own way, with myself overthinking the situation.

"Rosalina, why are the other peoples of Kyros..." I paused briefly, choosing my words carefully. "Not around? The remaining people that is."

"They've... most likely have gone to the Temple of Seraphine." She said after a moment of hesitation, "I would have gone as well, but I had stayed here with you to keep you company, I-I assumed you wouldn't want to go to a holy place of faith that you did not know of until recently." That was honestly... surprising, I assumed that Rosalina would be a devout follower of this 'Seraphine', considering her reaction to my ignorance of her goddess.

"You didn't have to do that for me Rosa," She looked down, and I laid a hand on her shoulder. "It was obvious to me that you're a faithful follower of Seraphine, you don't have to put aside your faiths for me."

She blushed, "I-It was my decision, and I will standby it, I promised myself to you and that is more important to me than my own worship in Seraphine."

I frowned at that, "Where is this 'Temple of Seraphine' located Rosa?"

"There should be a path leading directly to the main road in Furore, which interconnect with other various paths that eventually leads to the temple." She told me, trying to remember. "It's surrounded by several outlying villages that I know of, the Temple of Seraphine shouldn't be touched by the war, it's a holy place that none would dare attack in fear of invoking the wrath of Seraphine."

Humming, I continued. "Hm, nice to know, but the Temple of Seraphine's own protection makes it an ideal place to stay safe from the war." I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Which is why it was a stupid decision to stay behind, here in Kyros, where the bandits could come back for revenge for our recent actions." I shook my head, and she looked away in embarrassment and shame, which immediately made me regret my own words. "But!" She looked up at me, "We'll still go to the Temple of Seraphine, it is no longer safe here, and I don't want you getting in harms way. Gather your belongings, we're leaving as soon as possible."

"I-What?!" She asked me incredulously, "We can't just abandon Kyros! All the knowledge left behind here could be ransacked or worse, burned! If the bandits come back!" She shook her head fervently, denying our leave.

"It's certainly better than the alternative!" I wouldn't allow us to stay here any further, "Rosa, I won't put you at further risk, especially what had almost happened to you during the raid had I not been there to save you!" I will have to resort to pleading if necessary, to bring Rosalina to safety. "Please... Rosa, I-I..." I'm not sure if I'm fully ready to say it, I've only known her for a short time even if she is to be my 'soulmate', decreed so by Gaia.

I made a decision then and there to express what I felt through actions, not words, and I leaned in and kissed her fully on the lips, with her squealing as I did so. Her lips were... soft, and there were some hints of tangerines and strawberries I tasted, it was... pleasant, to say the least. Eventually - much to Rosalina's and my own displeasure - I pulled back, a small string of saliva bridged between our lips as she panted heavily with a flushed face.

"I-I'll pack up immediately..." She panted, still recovering from our lip-lock.

"Please, do so." I murmured softly, and she certainly heard it because of our close proximity as I was but centimeters from her. "I'll order my guys to get ready while you get your things together..."

She hesitantly turned away from me, walking towards her room with a slight sway in her hips, and I sort-of stared at her as she did so. She'll likely have her feelings for me grow from that rather tender but brief moment between us that happened a second ago, but something at the back of my mind tells me that it's a wondrous thing to have.

Shaking my head clear of my thoughts, I turned towards my two Recon Marines, whom still stood rigid through all that, I spoke to them, "You," I pointed to the one on my left, "I will name you as Alpha-One, and you," I pointed towards the other Recon Marine. "I shall name as Bravo-Two, those are your new designations." They nodded, and spoke in unison.

"Acknowledged." It was rather creepy that they were in sync like that.

Walking past the two Recon Marines and out the door of Rosalina's house, I saw Hal standing on one of the rooftops of the few remaining houses in the village, he was ever vigilant in his duties. Still though, I do wonder how he managed to get up a full complete two stories.

"Hal!" I called out to him, and he turned towards me. "We're moving out! Follow me!"

"Roger that!" He responded, and he began slowly going down the building, using a series of hand-grips on the house to climb down.

With all three of my companions/support units at my side, all I had to do now was wait for Rosalina to finish packing up, and it was interesting to see Hal eyeing the Alpha-One and Bravo-Two with a scrutinizing gaze, said Recon Marines were unfazed by his look directed at them.

"I'm ready!" I turned towards Rosalina, her coming forth with a small pack made of leathers in one hand, and her USP in the other "I've brought what I needed, are we going now?"

"Indeed we are, Rosa," I told her, crossing my arms. "Although, can you lead us since you know the terrain, y'know, better than us?" She nodded, and stepped forward.

"Well then, it will be a long journey but we'll reach the temple in two or three days." She shrugged, "It depends on the weather and how fast we can walk there."

I hummed, getting to the Temple of Seraphine was a priority right now, "Hal, Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, keep pace at a steady march with us, we don't want to waste time getting to our destination." They voice their affirmatives and I turned back towards Rosalina.

"Shall we get going now?" I asked her.

She smiled, "We shall."

With that, we set off down a small dirt path surrounded by the forest around Kyros, hopefully we won't encounter any obstacles in our way, cause I really don't need the headache at the moment right now, considering that I need to be focused on Rosalina.


	4. Arc 1: Undead, Temple, Discoveries

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - Janus Continent - Kingdom of Furore)  
(Raphael's POV)**

The trip so far was uneventful, merely walking - or in the case of my subordinates, marching - on a dirt path and onto another dirt path. Although, Rosalina did say that we managed to cover a decent bit of travel with our set pace. However, with the mention of her, she's been getting closer to me, no doubt cause of me kissing her back at Kyros is what caused our bond to further strengthen if her hand grasping tightly onto my own was any indication.

She hummed a small tune as we walked, and I turned my head slightly to the side to see Hal and the Recon Marines behind us, out of speaking distance is what I'd estimate as they marched. We were no doubt an odd-looking bunch, myself wearing mostly black-colored clothing, Hal wearing forest camouflage, the Recon Marines wearing desert camouflage, and Rosalina with a blue bodice and wearing some rather skin-tight lightish-brownish breeches that accentuated her rear. It made her quite enticing, and she was no doubt well aware of that as I saw her barely-concealed smirk.

I do not regret kissing her back at Kyros, no, but I'd rather not have a rushed relationship with a woman I barely know. If I were to say the status of the relationship between us, it'd be at best, somewhere between the lines of friends with benefits and dating. For now, I'll have to have to suppress any advances on her part, mainly due to the fact that she may or may not have an abundant amount of a mixture of love and lust for me.

Preferably, I'd _really_ like to get to know her better, if she is to be my 'soulmate' then I'd like for us to know as much about the other as possible. She'll been in for a shock when I show her the wonders of the modern - now futuristic(?) as well - world.

Rosalina hummed, "...We should be nearing the main road, it would be best to stop and rest once we reach it."

I nodded, "I'll take your word for it, you know the terrain better than any of us."

She didn't say anything as we kept our pace down the path, it would be ideal to stop and rest soon as night time approaches, finding where to rest and on what would have to be a matter later addressed.

Several minutes had passed, and the sunlight became more prominent as we walked, this world's star piercing through the thick brush of the forest becoming more common down the path. Considering that the massive amounts of trees and bushes surrounding us had blocked the sunlight from entering, the forest's exit was very clear to me and no doubt to the others saw the blinding light that was the exit, contrasting with the darkness of the forest's interior.

"That's most likely the exit, right?" I asked Rosalina, and she nodded. "Good, cause I could use some sun."

As Rosalina and I passed through the underbrush, I held a hand above my eyes as the sun's rays slightly hurt to look at, needing some time to re-adjust to being back in the light. Hal and my Recon Marines soon passing through the underbrush as well, neither of them hardly affected by the sunlight considering their attire.

However, as my eyes re-adjusted, the full scope of the surrounding land became visible to me, and it was awe-inspiring as it was terrifying. The terrain was scarred by various scorch marks, patches of burnt grass, skeletal remains of whomever had fought here - which would be a long-time ago considering the state of the remains - and most prominently, the large trench of dirt in the center of it all. This was clearly the result of a skirmish, considering that the field only had a few parts of it looking as if they were affected by a battle - an old one at that, but there were was quite the amount of corpses.

What caught my attention though, was at the very edge of the crater there was a still-standing skeleton, clad in silvery plate mail armor and an intricate-looking sword raised high above him, I had a strange feeling to stay away from that 'corpse'. If magic was present in this world then it'd been safe to assume that there was also necromancy, and I'm not too entirely sure how firearms would fare against such a foe.

"What is this exactly Rosa...?" I asked her, keeping an eye on the armored skeleton.

"I-I don't know..." She said as confused as I was, "This couldn't have happened years ago, passing caravans would have certainly told us, and the path behind us is the only one leading to Kyros..." That was alarming, my guess on it being necromancy couldn't be too far off with this information.

I narrowed my eyes at the nearest skeleton, sprawled on the grass in a undignified heap a few feet away from us. There was only one way to be definitely sure, and I drew my M1911, slowly walking towards it with my pistol pointed at it should it decide to start 'living' once more. The blood-covered sword at its side didn't ease my fear as I stepped closer to it, lightly tapping its skull with my boot.

...Nothing, it merely laid there.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I lowered my weapon, turning towards the rest of my party with an uneasy smile, which Rosalina was the only one to return with an equally uneasy one. However, that smile turned to that of a panicked-look on her face, Hal and the Recon Marines raising their bow and rifles respectively, pointed at my direction as my blood stopped cold.

I spun around as a foreboding rattling sound came from behind me, just in time to see the not-so-dead skeleton raising its sword and bringing it down on me, with no time to bring out any of my own weapons or shield, I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a sword that cut into the ground.

A second later, it was riddled with bullets and was finished off with an arrow impaling itself into its head. It definitely wasn't getting up anytime soon, or ever, but just to be sure I ran up and kicked the skeleton's head far away from its body, sending it careening through the sky. What was horrifyingly below the skull was the rising army of skeletons, a cacophony of rattling bones tore through my ears as the undead army rose.

Quickly turning to the others with no time to waste, I spoke, "Hal, Alpha-One, protect Rosa!" I turned towards the other Recon Marine, "Bravo-Two, follow me!" As they did what I told, I spun around to face the arising army, bringing out my Sig Sauer 556 as I did so.

 **[Major Battle Incoming! EXP Notifications disabled!]  
** **[Enemy Force Composition: 121x Skeletons, 1x Iniqua Ultor]  
** **[Threat Level: (B-)]**

A minor inconvenience removed, it didn't really matter either way as I focused back on the horde of skeletons in front of me, it was useful to know of the exact number of my enemies but this 'Iniqua Ultor' sounds... unique, but not an individual name as it counted it as a singular entity. The threat level on the other hand was interesting, something to take note of as I should compare battles such as these in the future to see if a battle is truly dangerous, for now, a horde of skeletons and a 'Iniqua Ultor' qualified as a B- level threat.

I ducked as a skeleton got too close and swung its bloodied rusted sword at me, with myself returning the favor as I rammed the butt of my rifle at its skull, easily shattering the already fragile bone. Its remains crumbled to the ground in a pile of bones, if this was the full extent of a B- level threat then I can assume that its numbers were the only real advantage, perhaps it depends on my forces versus that of an enemy force?

As Bravo-Two began using his MK14, I did the same with my Sig Sauer 556, taking out the undead forces with well-placed head shots or two body shots, bullet casings eventually began piling up near our feet. It was _really_ fortunate that I had re-stocked on ammunition and bought the two Recon Marines as I had very much doubt that Hal, Rosalina, and myself could deal with the numbers without being overwhelmed, but with the Recon Marines we had our blind spots covered.

The army in front of us was whittled down little by little as they could hardly run with their rickety old bones, but the Iniqua Ultor still remained at the very rear of the horde of skeletons, no longer at the crater, but rather looking at us with a pair of cold blue eyes that were visible even to myself from a distance. I had a feeling that this horde was very minuscule compared to the Iniqua Ultor, I saw the power its very being radiated from its eyes alone, while it was no where near Sera's it was still enough to warrant my attention and caution.

With Alpha-One and Hal joining in on the elimination of the skeletal horde, the last vestiges of skeleton forces had suddenly collapsed, all except for the Iniqua Ultor and the remains of the skeleton horde had various blue wisps of mist coming off them and towards the Iniqua Ultor. Said remaining skeleton's eyes glowed further with power as each wisp went into him, until he literally _glowed_ blue and began moving towards us, stepping on bones with no care for its compatriots.

The sword it was wielding - now identified as a xiphos - began glowing the same blue hue as its wielder, and I widened my eyes as it brought back its sword and swung down in a backslash, generating a thin vertical blue line coming straight for us. I leaped to my left as Bravo-Two leaped to the right, the blade of air narrowly missing us as it dug a line in the dirt between us. I staggered back up, bringing up my rifle as I did so to take out the dangerous foe as he prepared another strike, but I was far too slow and another blade of air came from his blade, this time directly towards me.

Having no time to leap out of the way this time, I brought out my only option, Crowd Control, and set it in front of me as I braced myself for the inevitable blow. I grunted as I felt it clash against the Legendary-grade shield, but held my ground as I eventually felt the pressure push me back. I dug my feet into the ground, and a trench was created as I was pushed back, but it had eventually stopped with the blade of air soon disappearing, relieving me of the pressure.

Quickly setting down Crowd Control, the latter locking itself down onto the ground, I made haste with drawing my rifle and aiming at the Iniqua Ultor as it had turned its attention towards Rosalina and the others, preparing another slash. Hal and Alpha-One protectively stood in front of her as the skeleton did so, but I drew its attention by firing a round at it, clinging against its armor as the 5.56mm bullet slammed into its body, which made it turn its attention back to me once more.

Bravo-Two joined in on shooting at the Iniqua, the armor it had was certainly made of sturdier stuff, fortunately it had stopped throwing blades of air at us, unfortunately it began moving towards us. As it came closer, I did eventually notice that some of our rounds pinged off certain parts of its armor, it never came to mind that the Iniqua Ultor had a mana shield of its own except not a full-body one considering the dent in its breastplate.

However, it appeared that only the arms, legs, and head were protected by a mana shield, but not its body for whatever reason, as impractical as it is. I suppose it is justified though with the breastplate it has, compensating for the lack of a magical shield in that area.

What I know is, is that it won't last long against a barrage of 5.56mm and 7.62x51mm, "Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, focus fire on the legs! Hal, go for the head!" I ordered them, and Hal and Alpha-One had joined in on the ranged fire.

As bullets pelted it with the occasional arrow in the mix, I eventually heard a shatter - of what I can assume is its mana shield - and one of the Iniqua's legs crumpled after Bravo-Two shot it, effectively crippling and hindering its movement. As its leg crumpled under its own weight, it took a knee, allowing it to become vulnerable before us, no-longer a moving target. Another shatter indicated its right arm being blown off, little to no armor there assisted with that, now it was disarmed.

Several seconds later, one last shatter indicated its skull being blown completely apart, ending this battle as it slumped forward in a clattering of bones.

 **[Major Battle Results: EXP Notifications Enabled]  
[Threats Eliminated: 56x Lvl.12 Skeletons, x65 Lvl.13 Skeletons, x1 Lvl.32 Iniqua Ultor]  
[Threat Level (B-) Rewards: $25,000, 50,000 EXP]  
[EXP Distribution: +28,000 EXP, +35,750 EXP, +4,500 EXP = +68,250 EXP (+50,000 EXP = +118,250 EXP)]**

 **You are now Lvl.18!  
(EXP: 18,150/36,000)**

 **Currency: $57,950**

That battle was precariously fought, and the rewards were well-deserved, it also gave me more insight on Terros' many dangers, especially that of the Iniqua Ultor. I'm going to need an effective countermeasure against it - and other beings with mana shields - should I encounter anymore of them in the future, considering the fact that it required Hal, Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, and myself focusing our fire on it.

Overall, I've expended four magazines along with fourteen 5.56mm rounds in my current magazine in that battle, I can assume that the others have also used up at least one magazine - or in Hal's case, a dozen arrows.

I turned towards Rosalina, "Well, that was interesting, right?"

She deadpanned, "Yes, nearly dying against overwhelming numbers is 'interesting' Raphael."

"Well..." I trailed off nervously, "When you put it like that, no, it isn't interesting."

She sighed, "Let's just continue with our traveling, we've wasted enough time here as it is."

"Right, lead the way..." I placed Crowd Control and the Sig Sauer in my inventory, following after Rosalina, I swore I heard Hal mutter 'whipped' as I did so, but ignored it.

Continuing our journey, - Hal and the Recon Marines re-assuming their march - we passed by various skeletons laid out on the dirt, each of them having a bullet-sized hole in their skulls. Eventually we passed by the crater, with myself looking down it, and the sight was horrifying to say the least.

It was a pile of bones, rotting - looking recent - corpses of men, women, and even children, rusted and broken swords and shields were here and there. It was clear that the skeletal horde and the Iniqua Ultor didn't discriminate, and I nearly dry-heaved at the _smell_ of their bodies wafting in. I looked away immediately as I had looked at it, but my own thoughts on the rotting corpses told me that they were killed recently in contrast to the skeletons in the crater, right near the... only path to Kyros.

...Perhaps those bodies were from a different group of refugees or travelers, but a feeling of dread welled up in me as I wasn't convinced by my own thoughts, the lives of those people... snuffed out so simply like that to this _fucking_ skeleton army...

I froze as I turned to Rosalina, so caught up in my own thoughts and feelings that I hadn't seen how she would react to this, - the deaths of people who were likely her friends from Kyros - and her reaction was so much worse than mine, as she clearly came to the same conclusions I had.

She had tears streaming down her face, a single hand over her mouth as she still continued looking at the pile of the dead, and she let out a single choked sob. I reacted quickly, turning her away from the scene as she broke down in tears, wrapping an arm around her in sympathy - knowing I couldn't do much to ease her sadness from the sight of her fellows from Kyros.

This most likely destroyed whatever the state of her recovery was from the raid and burial of her friends, and will just as likely push her to the breaking point, placing her in a perpetual state depression if so - something that I will forbid.

"Rosa, it'll be okay..." I soothed her, rubbing circles on her back. "I'm here for you..."

She didn't respond, as her body was racked with sobs, covering her face with both hands. Seeing that she'll be in this state for a while, I picked her up bridal style, knowing that she wouldn't be able to continue our journey I turned towards Hal.

"Hal, take Rosa's map, you'll take us to the Temple of Seraphine." I ordered him, and he nodded, "You're point man, Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, stay close to me."

As Hal took the aforementioned map from Rosalina's pack, and the Recon Marines took up position close behind me protectively, we had once again began our journey, except this time Rosalina would have to be out of commission for a while. Sadly, the mentioned woman had cried herself to sleep, laying in my arms with tear-streaks on her face, I could only hope that she'll be able to recover from this - even if it's a low possibility.

While Hal began walking, myself and the Recon Marines followed after with a course set for the Temple of Seraphine, I would have to eventually come back to the crater and lay the weary dead to rest, it would only be right. It'll have to come far later in the future, considering the state of Furore and the travel distance between the Temple of Seraphine and the crater, but as soon as possible I will come back to the crater to set it aflame to give the proper burial rites to the dead.

* * *

 **(Several Hours of Travel Later)**

Night had befallen during our travel, but we were no doubt closer to the temple now, and my impatience nearly got the best of me as I could seek help from the worshipers of Seraphine, her own Priestess(?) or healers in the temple. While it is wishful thinking, I know that I couldn't deal with Rosalina's depression on my own, but then again, I could possibly be wrong as I did help her recover from the raid in Kyros, emotionally, that is.

Turning my attention back to the dirt road we had been traveling on, Hal had still kept the same pace as he did from earlier with no signs of tiring. Nevertheless, it was a good thing, I suppose, considering there could be any sort of unforeseen dangers in the lands of Furore in its current state it'd be best to seek shelter immediately.

The weight in my arms shifted, and I tilted my head slightly to see Rosalina murmuring to herself in her sleep, it was quite fortunate that I was able to hold her for so long. She had not yet awoken since the crater, and this wasn't the first time she began shifting and muttering to herself in her sleep. Hopefully, they weren't nightmares about the scene a few hours ago, Gamer's Mind is quite handy, but unfortunately, Rosalina did not have the same powers as I have.

" _I'll get you some help soon..._ " I whispered softly, well-aware that she couldn't hear me.

"Destination ahead," Hal spoke, and I blinked in surprise as I turned to him, I thought we had at least another day's worth of travel.

Walking up next to Hal, I followed his line of sight towards the open-field plains before us, what was spotted was clearly a temple of some sort - but much more well-defended than any of the ones I knew from Earth. Even from the distance we were at, the temple and its defenses were quite large, and torches lit up both its wall and the temple itself as a beacon in the night.

It was quite obvious now that I realize it, refugees pouring into the Temple of Seraphine was because of the fact that it was well-defended and away from the horrors of war. Most of all, it was a 'holy' place, something that presumably makes it a place to be ignored by both Furorean and Perrosian sides, assuming that Seraphine herself would smite them down.

"Let's get going then," I ordered, "I need to get Rosa help."

He nodded, "Of course, taking point."

Re-assuming our original pace, now that the Temple of Seraphine was closer than I had imagined, we had made haste for the only sight of shelter possibly for miles on-end. Hunger did not make us falter, as I did not need such a thing anymore, and - I assume - my companions didn't need any source of sustenance considering they had not shown any signs of fatigue.

Eventually, as we got nearer and nearer to the temple, we had passed by the occasional group of refugees, knowing that they were the latter based on their attire and what they carried with them. I barely had time to see their expressions of surprise as we passed by them, it was a refreshing sight to see a supposedly friendly face considering that the only friendly faces I had seen so far were that of my own companions and Rosalina's.

The temple's walls and now its gate were visible, and the wall had appeared much larger than I had previously thought, estimating that it was at least fifty feet high. For a place of worship, it's quite well-defended, overly-so, as small slits in the battlements of the wall provided any archer or ranged unit inside to provide a clear shot of anyone in front of the gate and wall itself. As we approached the gate, we ceased our movement the moment a feminine voice began shouting at us.

"Halt!" Craning my head up towards the top of the wall, I spotted a helmeted figure leaning over the edge, "State your business and reasons for being at this holy site traveller!"

The woman's voice sounded as though she commanded respect, and I was inclined to comply with her orders seeing as the temple was our only chance at a shelter for a while, Hal and the two Recon Marines doing so as well. With that, I spoke up for my small group.

"We seek shelter, away from the war!" I looked down at Rosalina, "And help for someone... dear to me!"

There was no response for a while, until the woman eventually spoke once again, "Very well, you may enter the holy Temple of Seraphine, a temple guard will speak with you inside!" A pause, the gates began creaking open inward, "Do not cause any problems or we will force you out!"

"Got it!" I gave the woman a thumbs-up that she likely did not see.

As the gate fully opened, the sight that was before me showed of how many had fled to the Temple of Seraphine, makeshift tents and bedrolls were scattered around what was once - I assume - the temple's courtyard. Surrounding the courtyard were armed guards, however, what I noticed is that the guard only consisted of women, armed with either a spear or a sword. I suppose that is to be expected considering the male to female ratio on Terros, women had to become warriors unlike those that were treated from the past civilizations of Earth, a stark contrast compared to nothing but a mere caretaker of the household and children.

I turned to the sound of boots clacking against the stone path surrounding the courtyard, one of the temple guard I assume, she was clad in a helmet similar to that of the Spartans of Ancient Greece, except the plume was blue, not red. What was odd was that the rest of her toned body had Terros' equivalent of a fur bikini in a leopard pattern, her legs were covered in bronze-colored greaves, I'd assume that the temple guard were built for speed.

"Greetings travelers," She spoke, a sword sheathed at the hip colliding with her greaves, giving off a clanging sound, "I am Huscarl Rhea, and welcome to the Temple of Seraphine."

Huscarl... I vaguely remember that being the household guards of ancient Scandinavian kings or lords, better known as the housecarls. It was interesting to have a piece of Earth's past history be present on Terros, but it would tell me that this world would probably have other places influenced by the ancient civilizations of Earth. I used Observe on her to fully see the extent of the temple guard.

 **Name: Rhea Kandangelos  
** **Race: Human  
** **Class: Temple Guard of Seraphine (+5 STR, +15 AGI)  
** **Age: 28 (-500% Age Growth)**

 **Level: 94**

 **Title: Fourth Pillar Huscarl of Seraphine - This title is a representation of your strength and dedication to the goddess, Seraphine, through loyalty and faith you have been deemed as one of the twelve pillars of Seraphine, a symbol of strength and peace. +Decreased Aging**

 **HP (Health Points): 22,200/11,700 (7,400 HP regeneration per minute)  
MP (Mana Points): 7,350/7,350 (4,800 MP regeneration per minute)**

 **STR (Strength): 94 (94+5=99)  
** **VIT (Vitality): 74** **(300 HP per point, 100 HP regeneration per point)  
** **AGI (Agility): 102  
** **INT (Intelligence): 49** **(150 MP per point)** **  
** **WIS (Wisdom): 48** **(100 MP regeneration per point)** **  
** **CHR (Charisma): 72  
** **LUC (Luck): 44**

 **Description: Rhea Kandangelos was raised in the Temple of Seraphine, her own parents being killed by bandits, fortunately a passing temple guard had saved her before said bandits could have their way with her. At a young age, she was raised to be a member of the temple guard of Seraphine, showing impressive amounts of skill over the course of several years, eventually becoming a Pillar of Seraphine. Through becoming a Pillar, she was blessed by Seraphine herself as a reward for her faith and service, decreasing her age growth and granting Rhea minor powers of healing, which would put her at 140 years old - not physically that is.**

"Thank you Huscarl." I returned the greeting with a nod.

"You seek asylum here, I presume?" She asked.

"We do," I nodded, "I also seek help for the woman in my arms, I'm afraid her... mental psyche has been severely damaged. It is another one of the reasons why we are here, aside from taking shelter in here."

"I see..." She hummed, "Our priestess can help your woman, follow me."

She spun around on her heel, setting off with a brisk pace, not even looking behind her to see if we followed after or not. Nonetheless, we did walk after her, passing by the various makeshift camps that housed the refugees in the courtyard. Most of them had bruises or injuries of some sort, but they were looking a bit thin especially, each of them having an air of depression hung around them. I had not realized the situation was so dire, but I should've assumed so as these people were displaced from their homes, the war tearing apart families as well.

I shook my head, I should interfere in the war sooner, the Furorean people are suffering more and more as the war continues on, the matter is on how and when. However, with my current level I very much doubt I could do much in terms of a major effect, firearms are invaluable sure, but they wouldn't do much to an army of Perrosians. Maybe the 'ID Create' that Sera had suggested to me would be a much quicker way to gain funds and levels, buying an army of my own will take some time but it's my only way other than the major quests I have ongoing.

 **Due to thinking things through WIS and INT has increased by 2!**

"This way," I tuned back in as Rhea spoke, in front of a pair of iron doors. "I will speak with the priestess to assist you. Ah, now that I mention it, what is your name?"

"It's Raphael D'Angelo," I tilted my head towards Hal and the Recon Marines, "This is Hal Greene, Alpha-One, and Bravo-Two."

"Such odd names, but I am not one to judge." She pushed open the doors, walking in. "And the name of the woman in your arms?"

"...Her name is Rosalina Surrexerunt." I followed Rhea into the building.

"Is she your lover then?" She asked me, not faltering in the slightest.

"I-uh, it's complicated." I replied to the temple guard, unsure.

"...Right then, I will not get involved in your personal affairs, they are yours to deal with." She paused, stopping before another set of doors, "The priestess is beyond these doors, treat her with the utmost respect Sir D'Angelo or there will be consequences."

I nodded, "Of course."

Walking past Rhea, I was greeted with the sight of a hooded woman in pure white robes, sat in a lotus position atop of a cushion. There were two more temple guards armed with spears, standing protectively before her, several steps below the priestess' position. However, the feel and aura of the room felt incredibly different in comparison to the courtyard, rather than the depressing and alert sensation of the courtyard there was a sense of peace and tranquility in the room.

 **Status Effect [Peace of Seraphine] has been inflicted upon you! +500 HP/MP regeneration per minute! -Weapons Disabled!**

Said aura was emanating from the center of the room, the priestess was clearly the one whom exuded such a presence. As I walked up to her, I had time to examine the room, embroideries, marble pillars - twelve to be exact, - and various intricately decorated vases held up on podiums. Although, something told me that even without Observe, the vases were much more than simple decorations as they as well presented a small but noticeable aura of their own, similar to the priestess.

Eventually standing but a few steps from the actual steps leading to the priestess, the temple guard having stopped me from moving any further when they had crossed their spears together, blocking my path. I took it as a sign that it was as close as I was going to get, and after a moment of hesitation, I decided to kneel considering that the priestess still had not moved from her lotus position at the top of the steps.

Eventually, she had spoken, "Raphael D'Angelo, I was expecting you."

I looked up in confusion, "You were?" How exactly had she predicted I was coming? If anything, I'm - along with my companion and support units - an anomaly on Terros, I doubt any 'divine' being could influence my life or predict where I'd be going.

"Yes, my lady Seraphine had given me a vision of your coming." Well, that's not good. "I took it as a sign that you are someone of importance to warrant the attention of our goddess," She hummed, "and I can assume you seek my help in healing the mind of your lady-friend?" I could almost see the playful smirk hidden beneath the shadow of her hood.

"Y-Yes, Rosalina has not woken up from the sight of her dead kin for several hours now," I shook my head, ignoring the fact that I caught the attention of a goddess, and the priestess' playful smirk turned into that of a frown.

"Death, especially those of ones dear to you, is tragic." She sighed, as if she had experienced this before. "I can understand why her psyche had been broken by such a sight, come here and allow me to see the full extent of her damages."

As I stood up from my kneeling position, I went forward, and the two temple guards had briefly hesitated before lifting their spears for me but raised them against Hal and the Recon Marines as they tried to follow me up the steps. They nearly drew their weapons but I stopped them with a simple shake of my head, if only Rosalina and myself - well, more myself considering Rosalina's state - were allowed to see the priestess then that's better than nothing, and I'd rather not cause any problems.

Walking up to the priestess, I got a clearer look of her features, a lock of blonde hair protruded from under her hood and a pair of _glowing_ purple eyes shone underneath the shadow of her hood. I internally sighed, the priestess was a beautiful woman even if most of her features were shadowed over, much like the rest of the temple guard - minus the hood and robes - and I'm not sure about how I should feel about my thoughts coming true about women equalling Rosalina in terms of beauty if not more. Although, I do feel like Gaia is mocking me with the amount of women she's most likely made me introduced to, as I doubt this world can just be 'randomly generated'.

"Could you possibly be attracted to me Raphael?" I froze as I was torn out of my thoughts, and that playful smirk of the priestess' was back again. "Cause the way you're staring at me certainly suggests so, but I do not blame you, as I have been told I'm quite attractive by many visitors."

I felt my cheeks heat up at her words, but I made the unfortunate - or fortunate - mistake of not responding to her words. Although, I don't deny that her beauty is certainly eye-catching, but it feels a bit wrong to think of such things with Rosalina in my arms.

The priestess laughed, "I jest Raphael, however," Her eyes suddenly had an indiscernible glint to them, "I do find the thought of you courting me to be interesting."

"C-Can we just get on with healing Rosalina?" I asked, trying to stay on track.

"Right, bring her here." I nodded, and I gently laid her on the ground.

The priestess' hands began to glow a golden hue, and she laid one hand on Rosalina's chest and the other placed on her head, while she did so I all I could do was merely watch. However, I decided to use the spare time to use Observe on the priestess.

 **Name: Katianna Nix  
Race: Human  
Class: Priestess of Seraphine (+25 INT, +25 WIS)  
Age: 29 (LOCKED)**

 **Level: (?)**

 **Title: First Pillar of Seraphine - This title represents your faith and service to Seraphine rising above all others, through strength or knowledge you claim the position of First Pillar of Seraphine as your own, becoming an eternal servant of the goddess. +Ageless**

 **Title: Angel of Furore - This title is a representation of your service to the kingdom of Furore, helping those who are in need with your powers granted to you from Seraphine herself, being seen by many of the people as a guardian angel. +50 REP to Furorean People**

I blinked in surprise, the priestess - now identified as Katianna - is my first contact with a person above one hundred levels or more on Terros, not counting Sera or the other Gamers back at the Hub. Katianna must truly be powerful, although I suppose one would not be worthy of being the priestess and First Pillar of Seraphine if they were weak-willed or minded.

"Oh dear," Katianna spoke up, distressed. "Raphael, it appears Rosalina's mind has suffered, but not so much so that it'd require immediate attention from telepaths far greater than me. From what I can see is that the scarring is only temporary if she is tended to by someone close, being you of course."

I frowned, "Will she wake up though?"

"Of course, but I would need to create a block within her mind, it wouldn't last for long but enough for her to cope." She detracted her hands from Rosalina, "When I create the block, she will wake up, but with no memory of her dead-kinsmen. However, there will be a gap in her memory that you will need to fill in, that is not about her deceased kin."

I nodded, "Okay, create the block."

She returned the nod, and the golden hue formed in her hands once again, this time with much more intensity as she placed both hands on the sides of Rosalina's head. Chanting in a language I do not know - which would be impossible considering Gamer's Mind translate _everything_ \- but I assume that it was a magic spell of some sort.

Eventually, the golden hue slowly faded away bit by bit from Katianna's hands, until she stopped chanting and the hue was completely gone. Just as she pulled away her hands, Rosalina began moaning, and I quickly knelt by her side as her eyes fluttered open, showing me those familiar cerulean orbs.

"R-Raphael? What h-happened?" She drowsily said, lifting her head up and putting a hand to the side of her head.

"You were..." I paused briefly, making up an excuse for the massive gap in her memory, "hit on the back of the head, apparently, one of the skeletons were still standing after the Iniqua Ultor absorbed most of them." Katianna - for whatever reason, - shot me a startled look at the mention of the Iniqua Ultor, "It got past us while we were dealing with the Iniqua, and managed to strike you from behind but fortunately we prevented it from doing anymore harm to you." I sighed, shaking my head, "But, the injury was a bit severe, and we had rushed here to the Temple of Seraphine, the priestess healed you and here we are now."

"O-Oh," She said, shock and surprise most likely overwhelming her. "I... see." She turned her head to side, coming face to face with Katianna, and she reeled back in even more surprise, "Priestess Nix! I-Uh, thank you for healing me!" Well, at least she is not skeptical about my made-up excuse for her memory gap, as she got on her knees before the priestess.

Katianna waved her hand dismissively, "It was of no consequence Rosalina, I am merely happy to help."

"Nonetheless, thank you so much!" Rosalina persisted.

The priestess merely chuckled, as if though amused by Rosalina's continued thanks, seemingly used to it. Although, I can assume that she is used to it considering that her own age has been locked for whatever number of years, that could easily amount up to many thanks and gifts sent to Katianna.

"Let's get going Rosa," I patted her shoulder. "I'll need to get you settled in, your recovery is still not fully complete."

"Raphael is correct, your injury still needs to heal, all I merely did was accelerate the natural healing of your body." She nodded at me, "I leave the rest of your healing in the capable hands of him, as you should be feeling exhausted right about now."

Rosalina slowly stood up, but staggered briefly, and I was at her side in an instant to keep her steady. It appeared that Katianna's healing had offered Rosalina a brief boost of adrenaline after her waking, and it had worn off.

I turned my head towards Katianna, "Thank you for the help, I will find a way to repay this debt." She merely hummed her response, and I guided Rosalina down the steps with her leaning heavily on my shoulder.

Passing by the temple guards, Hal and the Recon Marines followed me once more, however, I heard the priestess speak up from behind me.

"Farewell Raphael, may we meet again." I continued my stride, not responding to her farewell, instead raising my hand up in a gesture that told her I had heard it.

I do not doubt that we'll meet again, Katianna Nix, not with my current plans that I have set. Besides, I have a feeling that Gaia has some sort of plan of her own for the priestess of Seraphine, considering that I did feel an... attraction of sorts to her. As I led Rosalina out of the priestess' room, I was met with the Fourth Pillar of Seraphine, Rhea still standing at the door with her arms crossed.

"How did it go?" She asked me with narrowed eyes, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well..." I prepared an explanation.

* * *

 **(Katianna Nix's POV)**

I hummed as I watched the person of interest to Lady Seraphine walk away, he is admittedly handsome among many other men I have met over the years of my long life. Such strange apparel too, yet it looked as though it was protection of some sort, not to mention his weapons... However, Raphael D'Angelo has had more of an effect on me than any other man, I instinctively rubbed my thighs together - I've sworn my maidenhood to Lady Seraphine but I do have a feeling that it will become increasingly difficult to uphold my oath should I see more of Raphael.

Alarmingly enough, his mind was inaccessible to me, something that had surprised me greatly when I had probed his mind as I healed Rosalina Surrexerunt. Instead of the usual view of thoughts streaming into my own, there was... an almost void-like feel to it, I can understand why Lady Seraphine is so interested in the man.

He will shake the world to its roots, the memories I had received from his woman had informed me of his weapons so much more lethal than that of swords and bows, possibly even certain aspects of magic. The future of Raphael is uncertain, as is the will of the gods, but he will rise to power. Perhaps, my own oath of maidenhood could... No!

I shook my head, already I have begun having such lewd thoughts of a man I had met recently, even going as far as to think of breaking my own oath. What would Lady Seraphine think of such thoughts of mine?

' **You** **feel an attraction to him as well, Katianna?** ' My eyes shot up in surprise.

'Lady _Seraphine?_ ' I returned with my own mental thoughts, the power of Lady Seraphine nearly-overwhelming my mind.

 _' **Yes,**_ ** _it is I, now tell me, how do you feel about Raphael D'Angelo?_** '

' _He's...handsome_ , _yet an oddity._ ' I could feel Lady Seraphine chuckling.

 _' **Indeed**_ ** _he is, the man has caused certain emotions of mine to re-appear after so many centuries... Appearing out of nowhere, yet I do not feel or sense any malicious thoughts coming from him even if his mind is blocked to me._** ' I blinked in surprise.

' _You cannot enter his mind either my Lady?_ '

' _ **No**_ , _ **it is the same as you, I cannot enter his mind. Raphael either has an incredibly strong mind, or there is another being, one beyond even my own power that has created a mental barrier for him.**_ ' I shifted uncomfortably at her words, a being far stronger than her?

' _And_... _if there is such a being stronger than you watching over Raphael my Lady?_ '

 _' **Then**_ ** _Raphael is on this world for a reason, I've seen his weapons, apparel, and men, it explains his unnatural personality is most certainly otherworldly. Whatever being watching over him sent him here for a reason, for conquering, spreading the influence of his goddess, or something else, I do not know._** '

' _But_ , _he did not seem to look like a conquerer my Lady, nor was he preaching about any being in the short time I've been with him._ '

 _' **Remember** ,_ ** _this is only a theory, Raphael is an anomaly. There could possibly be an entity involved or not, and perhaps he's merely just a particularly strong individual. For now, keep a close eye on him, he is someone of interest to me and now you._** '

' _Of course my Lady._ ' I nodded to a being that wasn't there, the presence of my patron goddess fading away.

Things have become far more interesting, just who are you exactly, Raphael D'Angelo?

* * *

 **(Terros - Janus Continent - Kingdom of Furore - Temple of Seraphine)  
(Raphael's POV)**

I sneezed, as if though I felt someone was speaking about me, which was odd. Never mind that, after I had explained what had happened in Katianna's room - barring the part of blocking some memories of Rosalina's - to Rhea, she was sufficiently satisfied with my answer. After that, Rhea had guided us back to the courtyard, placing us in a part of the area, thus my current predicament as I helped Rosalina lay down on one of our issued-bedrolls.

"You good Rosa?" I asked her, gently laying her head down on a cushion.

She groaned, half-lidded eyes staring hazily at me. "I-I'm fine... Just tired."

"Still? After being knocked out for a few hours and you're still tired?" I rose a brow, "Then again, it could possibly be from that small adrenaline rush that wore off."

"I-I just need some rest..." She dozed off, closing her eyes.

I stood up - after throwing a blanket over Rosalina - and looked around the courtyard, my boots crunching over grass as my attire drew more than a few curious looks from other refugees. They no doubt saw us as some sort of warriors or a mercenary group, considering that we held our weapons like so, Hal, Alpha-One, and Bravo-Two stood protectively around our small little part of the courtyard in a triangle formation. Of course, we had also garnered most of the attention of the surrounding temple guard, they were no doubt wary of us and our weapons.

Rhea in the meantime had told us if we were to stay in the temple that we were to work to earn our keep. While most of the refugees were given trivial chores such as cleaning the temple, farming, or something similar of the sort Hal, the Recon Marines, and myself were assigned to something more combat-oriented, Rosalina being given a momentary time of rest due to her 'head injury'.

While I do not know the exact nature of the combat-related things that we'll be doing, I can assume that any viable threat to the temple will require us to take care of it - or just eliminate it. Rhea said that she herself will guide and inform us of the incoming threats, depending on the target and danger it presents then there'll be an extra reward.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair, the only sight and sound there was came from the illumination of the torch, along with the slight crackle it gave off. Nothing to do now other than to rest up, I rolled out my own bedroll next to Rosalina, laying down on it and throwing the blanket over me after removed my upper-body clothing. Hal and the Recon Marines did not need sleep as far as I knew, but I ordered them to rest if they showed any signs of fatigue.

Eventually, my own eyes had started drooping, and sleep overtook me - with it came the usual darkness.

* * *

 **(Raphael's POV - One Night Later)**

 **You have slept on a comfortable surface!  
100% of all HP and MP are recovered! Minor and Major Negative Status Effects removed!**

Drearily opening my eyes, I raised my arm as to cover block out the rising sun, grumbling as I sat up. Fully adjusting to the sunlight, I breathed in the pure air of Terros, not yet polluted by the horrors of the industrial world like Earth. Seeing that many of the refugees had already gotten up and prepared themselves for their daily chores, I stood up as well, my torso basking in the sun and I had seen that the Recon Marines were still up but Hal was down for the count - laid face-first on his folded up cloak. Rosalina was nowhere to be found, I assume she's already started her daily chores long before I woke up.

"I see that you have awoken Raphael," I turned around, coming face-to-face with Rhea, only identified by the box above her head as I've never seen her without her helmet.

Rhea had auburn hair tied up in a bun, along with a pair of amber eyes that glowed, much like Katianna. Once again, another beautiful woman was before me, and I quickly diverted my eyes away from her rather voluptuous body back to her eyes before she had caught me ogling her.

"Are you ready to work?" She asked me with a tinge of amusement in her voice, and I paled, "Or perhaps you're going to continue staring at me?"

Once again caught staring red-handed, I could only sheepishly rub the back of my head as Rhea shook her head at me, amused at my actions. I feel as if though this was going to become a common thing as life goes on, as unfortunate as it is, I can only take the blame for it as I cannot overcome my desires regardless of Gamer's Mind.

She laughed, "Do not worry Raphael, I am merely repeating what had happened between you and the priestess."

Internally sighing, I held a palm to my face, I have another feeling that the women I meet will tease me relentlessly if I was caught staring at them, or if they were told by another woman whom I ogled, and I'm not so sure if it's a curse or a blessing that they aren't giving me a beat down. Stupid primal instincts...

"I'll inform you of your target, and I do hope you're capable in battle." She gestured for me to follow her, "I'll see you on your way out, after giving you a map and some rations to survive."

Keeping up my stride with her, passing by emptied makeshift camps with the stray slacker here and there still asleep, and we eventually stood before the gate. There were four temple guards visible, and there were no doubt more hidden within the temple's walls, but my immediate attention was back to the gate as it began to creak back inwards once again, and Rhea turned to me.

"Here, take these." She offered me a rolled-up map and a wrapped cloth that was likely holding my rations.

Taking both items from her hands, "What's the target?" I asked, pocketing the map and subtly putting the wrapped rations in my inventory.

"Not 'what', 'who', an A+ rank Necromancer by the name of Velyn Kurst is on a murderous rampage, he has been responsible for the loss of many lives on all roads in Furore. Normally, I would not allow you to be near such a target on your first day, but Priestess Nix had insisted on me giving you this job." She shook her head in frustration, "I do not question her, but I do not hold the same faith in you as she does in killing Velyn."

"I find your lack of faith... disturbing." I frowned at her, and she shrugged in response.

"I'm not aware of what you're capable of, if you are capable of anything that is, but perhaps if you deal with the target and come back alive then you've proven your worth to me."

 **[Quest Alert!]**

 **[A+ Bounty: Necromancer - Velyn Kurst]  
[Objective: Velyn Kurst has been spreading death and destruction across the lands of Furore, armies of the undead are on the rise and will continue to rise until they overrun cities unless you stop him and his servants. This quest has a high chance of death, but this is a high risk high reward situation.]  
**

 **[Time Limit: 1 Month, 1 Week, 6 Days, 23:59:59]  
[Rewards: $250,000, 500,000 EXP, ?]  
[Failure: Death, Massive Loss of Life]  
[Do You Wish To Accept?]  
[Y/N]**

Well... shit.

I clicked **[Y]** whilst I was in my thoughts.

The quest is clearly long-term, and it's incredibly dangerous, considering the warning of a chance of me dying in it. This will no doubt take some time, time that I do not unfortunately have with the war between Furore and Perros, and if the necromancer was responsible for the skeleton horde and the _Iniqua Ultor_ then I will need to head to the Hub as conventional weaponry (i.e. my firearms) will not work against this Velyn Kurst.

Not to mention that I must say my goodbyes as it will at least take several days to finish this quest, if I survive that is - but that thinking will actually get me killed. Turning back to Rhea, I had to speak to her about a few conditions...

"Rhea, may I say my farewells before I embark?" I asked, and she nodded, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but make haste, every minute wasted Velyn continues his reign of terror." She told me.

Spinning around on the balls of my feet, Rosalina coincidentally came running over, saving me some time to search for her. Her expression of relief had become more apparent as she came closer to me, it appeared that she had just heard news of my beginning departure and came as soon as possible.

"R-Raphael!" She panted, nearly doubling over. "I heard that you were going after an A+ rank Necromancer, a-are you sure that you want to take this bounty?"

While I was touched by her concern, this quest is worth it - once I get the proper equipment to deal with magic-users, "Rosa, I'll be fine, don't worry about me too much. Hal, Alpha-One, and Bravo-Two will protect you while I'm gone." I leaned forward and kissed her cheek, "Stay safe Rosa."

"Y-You stay safe as well Raphael." She hugged me. "Try not to stay away for too long, and... please come back to me."

I flashed her a smile, "I'll come back to you as soon as possible Rosa." Her words reinforced my conviction to return alive, if I don't... well, then the moment her mental blocks clear then she won't ever recover, entering a state of depression... I won't further entertain those thoughts.

With my own farewells done, I turned back towards Rhea, she still stood patiently, waiting for me to finish. She merely rose a brow as I had faced her, asking me the silent question if I had finished with my own farewells, and I nodded at her - to which she returned and nodded to a temple guard. Said guard pulled a lever, re-opening the gates again, and I walked through without looking back at Rosalina, Rhea, or the temple guards.

Once I'm out of sight and range of the Temple of Seraphine I'll head to the Hub, with my funds over fifty thousand I'll be capable of purchasing things that were originally out of my price range. Preferably a gun that's capable of negating magical protection, and perhaps a rapier as a secondary melee weapon aside from my baton.

The wind whipped at my face, the cold was refreshing even if it was a bit annoying, which reminds to channel all of my mana for creating a mana shield that I would most definitely need considering my current active bounty quest.

 **(Mana Shield)**... I focused my mana around my body, repeating what I had done last time with Sera.

 **MS (Mana Shield): 4,050 (Durability Points)**

I should remind myself to continuously fill in my Mana Shield, considering that I can regenerate my total mana in a minute and a half. If I keep it consistent then I should have at least a million points in my Mana Shield in a single day, quite overpowered.

As I tuned back in to the real world, I nearly collided with a tree, telling me that I had reached the edge of a forest - far beyond the sight of the Temple of Seraphine. I honestly need to quit becoming lost in my own thoughts, it could very well be the death of me.

 **(Return to Hub)** and the same light that had transported me before fully enveloped my body, once again feeling nothing yet everything around myself, time has become irrelevant and reality is meaningless. Such thoughts were only temporary during the travel-time, and the feeling is something that I will never get used to no matter how many times I travel to the Hub.

Landing on my feet, the familiar sight of the center of all Gamers was before me, now that I had a better look at the city around me without any distractions I became aware of several bulletin boards next to my landing point. Perhaps they were the 'leaderboards' that Sera was talking about before, because they most certainly look the part of a leaderboard, numbers, names, and statistics were present and as I walked up to one of them, it allowed me an overview of the top Gamers in certain areas, and to say that I was shocked was a massive understatement.

 **[Highest Level Rankings #1-10]**

 **1\. Cadmus Von Steele [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
2\. Michael Venatores Nobles [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
3\. Wulffe Lorem [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
4\. Gabriel Procellas [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
5\. Sai Murasaki [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
6\. Kamryn Aquilo [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
7\. Damian Thorne [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
8\. Jacques Edel [Lvl. X - Higher Level Required to View]  
9\. Nerys Valerian [Lvl. 4,932 - STR/VIT Build Focus]  
10\. Samuel North Bridger [Lvl. 4,899 - INT/WIS Build Focus]**

 **[Amount of Territory Rankings #1-5]**

 **1\. Michael Venatores Nobles (The Eternal God-Emperor of The Stars) [22 Galaxies, 199,421,852 Star Systems, 2,931,983,005 Planetary Bodies, 111 Divine Realms]  
2\. Cadmus Von Steele (True Royalty Unbound By Death] [12 Galaxies, 142,981,074 Star Systems, 974,456,624 Planetary Bodies, 41 Divine Realms]  
3\. Sai Murasaki (Honorable Leader Through Thick and Thin) [7 Galaxies, 131,432,098 Star Systems, 742,987,112 Planetary Bodies, 12 Divine Realms]  
4\. Gabriel Procellas (Victor Through Deception and Trickery) [2 Galaxies, 98,962,243 Star Systems, 422,724,011 Planetary Bodies, 3 Divine Realms]  
5\. Samuel North Bridger (Commander of The Marksmen) [1 Galaxy, 42,872,984 Star Systems, 212,981,144 Planetary Bodies, 1 Divine Realms]**

Before I could continue looking on through the various leaderboard rankings, and further my own shock of the people so much more powerful than me in so many different ways, a Gamer - I presume considering that this is the Hub - spoke up to me from behind.

"Hey! New guy!"

* * *

 **Edit (August 12th, 2017): Edited the telepathic communication between Katianna and Seraphine.**


	5. Arc 1: Special, Hunt, Velyn Kurst

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(The Void - The Hub - Central Plaza)  
(Raphael's POV)**

I spun around, coming face to face with a male Gamer, the man's easy-going expression had told me that there wasn't any sign of hostility, but then again, looks can be deceiving. Like many other unique Gamers, his physical appearance would've stuck out on Earth, gray eyes and a mop of disheveled silvery hair was present atop his head.

"Raphael D'Angelo, if I'm right?" He asked me casually, I made a quick use of Observe on him and surprise, surprise, I can't see his exact stats.

 **Name: Markus Frieden  
** **Race: Blessed Human (+10 AGI)  
** **Class: Nobles Family Servitor (+20 AGI, +5 STR)  
Age: 442  
**

 **Level: (?-?)**

 **Title: Sword of Jazen Nobles - This title is a representation of your service to Jazen Nobles, son of Michael Venatores Nobles, being personally chosen as his personal guard and confidant. This of course, comes with perks as you attain high-level clearance to many things within the Galactic Imperium of Michael Nobles, barring the most secretive of military projects. +75 REP to Nobles Family, +Mid-High Security Clearance (Galactic Imperium)**

 **Title: Planetary Governor of Altara - This title represents your ownership over the planet of Altara, a Galactic Imperium world that has been graciously gifted to you for your service, with it comes the planet's minerals, agricultural produces, and military forces to be your own. +Ownership of Planet Altara, +100 REP to Altaran Colonists.**

Well, at least he isn't on the level of Sera, but I never knew that Gamers could come under service of other Gamers, considering I read the name of Michael Nobles just recently and apparently this 'Markus' person is a servitor for his family. Then again, the Nobles family has a rather large sphere of influence - an understatement if anything considering that they have twenty-two galaxies under their control - and serving their family must've come with benefits.

"I am Raphael D'Angelo," I confirmed, and he nodded.

"Good, I still knew it was cause, y'know, 'Observe' and all that?" He shrugged, "Never mind, you probably already know my name by now, right?"

"Markus Frieden." I told him, and he smiled.

"Correct," He said, nodding in approval. "I'm here on behalf of the Nobles family, Michael Nobles has taken notice of you and your potential as he puts it and would like for me to give you this as a gesture of good faith."

 **Gift Received From (Markus Frieden)! [Terran Federation Warship - Frigate + Personnel]**

I blinked in surprise, a frigate? I'm not entirely all that sure if it's a sea-worthy or a space-worthy vessel, but considering its name, I'm leaning more towards the latter. If it is in fact a space worthy ship then the gift is entirely a generous one, and something that I'm rather excited about, least I don't have to worry about getting a crew to man the vessel.

"This is... unexpected, but why would Michael give me this?" I questioned, the guy has nearly two-dozen galaxies under his command, I'm insignificant in the grand scheme of things concerning Gamers, but why would he notice me?

"He did not say," He frowned, humming. "I did not receive all the details, all he did was merely order me to gift the ship to you and become your liaison for the Nobles Family. Personally however, you should consider yourself very special - or lucky - as you had managed to warrant his attention, something that's incredibly difficult to earn considering he's mostly focused on his family. Myself on the other hand, had only managed to enter his service at around two hundred years of continuous missions and errands - ah, sorry I'm rambling."

That rose some questions, "So if I want to know about the Nobles Family...?"

"Then I'm your guy! I'll tell you what you know, to a certain degree of course, I cannot reveal everything of his family." He stuck his nose in the air, as if he was taking pride in becoming my pseudo-informant. "Just send me a message, and I'll answer all your questions from there, unfortunately I cannot meet you in person for them as I'm a very busy person."

I gave him a thumbs-up, "Got it, send you my questions and you answer them."

"Yes, and now I must go, I've lost enough precious time to do further missions, farewell Raphael D'Angelo." I covered my eyes as he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving no indication that he was even there.

Well, I should examine this new ship of mine...

 **[Lancer-Class Terran Federation Warship]  
** **[Ship Rank: Frigate]  
** **[Ship Grade: Uncommon]  
** **[Hull Points: 12,275,000/12,275,000]  
**

 **[Description: The Lancer-Class Frigate of the Terran Federation is one of the more unique ones of its class, holding twelve Phalanx Autocannon Turrets on both sides of the ship, and two Testudo Main Cannons, one a few meters down the bow of the ship and one on top bridge placed further down at ¾. Other armaments would include eight Apollyon-missile pods, and various point-defense systems spread across its hull. The ship's design on the other hand features a near-completely flat 'surface' of the ship, both starboard and port side curve downwards with the bow of the ship forming a two-pronged design, the stern of the ship having a pair of wings for aesthetics more than anything for this 600 meter spaceship.]**

 **[Armaments: 24x Phalanx Autocannon Turrets, 2x Testudo Main Cannons, x8 Apollyon-missile pods, x84 Einherjar-CIWS.]**

 **[Phalanx Autocannon Turret: 17,500 DMG per 10 seconds/volley.]  
[Testudo Main Cannon: 105,000 DMG per minute/volley.]  
[Apollyon-missile Pod: 35,000 DMG per missile.]  
[Einherjar-CIWS: 4,500 DMG per second.]**

 **[Manifest: 211 Crew/Combat Personnel, 4 Valkyrie Gunships, 2 Widow Air/Space Superiority Fighters, 28 Unmanned Reconnaissance Drones, 1 Mining Vessel/Processor.]**

...Well, at least I know that it's a spaceship rather than a 'wet-navy' ship.

If I were to deploy the Lancer-Class Frigate over Terros I'd have complete orbital and aerial dominance - as far as I knew based on my current knowledge - the concept of orbital bombardment becoming reality unlike fiction back on Earth. The gift was indeed generous, but for all I know, this 'Michael' character could've sent me his weakest ship - or an outdated one - or possibly a design and class of warships that was never in his navy in the first place - a scary thought no doubt.

The damage the ship could wreak on Terros is incalculable, its weapons far outclass whatever damage I could dish out at my level with my current weapons, which would prove it to be an invaluable asset.

However... I don't know the full effects and consequences of using the Lancer-Class Frigate on Terros, for all I know, its own cannons could cause an extinction-level event with a full volley of its main guns.

It's decided then, after a moment of deliberation, I would only use the ship's missiles or secondary weapons on Terros unless absolutely necessary, I would also have to be mindful of the fact that the ship's ammunition was not infinite, and would have to use it sparingly - if I ever use it, that is - but for now, I would leave it in my inventory.

I sighed, once again I was lost in thought, I'll bring up the thought of the Lancer-Class Frigate once it becomes relevant, but for now I set off for the marketplace to do what I was originally here in the Hub for. Purchasing anti-magic weaponry is a priority for my current bounty, regardless of the fact that I now had access to something that was potentially far more powerful.

Having already been in the Hub before twice, I had managed to memorize the path towards the marketplace, this time my fellow Gamers paid me no mind but they did give me passing glances, what exactly is so special about me?

Discarding the thought, I entered the marketplace, the sight of its stalls would no doubt become an increasingly familiar sight for years to come, as I can already see it becoming a part of my life. As I doubt that even if I produce most of my essentials I wouldn't be able to get the rarities of what other Gamers find or create.

Nevertheless, I had already passed by various stalls I had visited before, but I eventually came upon what I was looking for, I was starting to believe that the marketplace had everything one would need, it being only a matter of searching for said items. The weapons stall before me had various types of weapons, firearms, melee weaponry, and other familiar armaments, but there were also exotic arms among the stall's stock, some looking futuristic in design or completely tribal designs that screamed lethal.

Said exotic weapons were expensive, a likely testament to the firepower or damage it could likely dish out, but I was not here for such firepower, and I looked through the list for magic-negating weapons. I winced as the list stopped upon a gold-plated Remington Model 1858, it had engravings of an unknown design but I had a feeling that they were not for show, the hand cannon being a magic-negating weapon as well, fortunately it wasn't _too_ expensive.

It was an interesting weapon, yes, and it negated magic, but the item itself nearly costed a fifth of my funds - and I loathe to admit it but I do not want to throw away my money so easily after earning it in battle.

 **[Light of the North]  
[Rank: B]  
[Grade: Unique]  
[Durability: 25,000/25,000]  
[Description: Light of the North is a man-made modified Remington Model 1858, brought back to life by the 23rd century's greatest minds with far more improved recoil and accuracy along with modern-day .44 ammunition in place of lead balls. This revolver can easily punch through light armor as well as tear apart enemy soldiers with a single well-placed shot, only being given to officers of the Commonwealth of Man more as a weapon to raise morale somewhat due to the weapon's effects. However, the Light of the North has been specifically enhanced/enchanted by various persons of interest to make this particular revolver more... powerful, thus it is the ultimate anti-armor and anti-magic weapon.]**

 **Effects:  
Negates (Lesser) Magic  
Negates (Light) Armor  
+1,500 Physical Damage**

 **Cost: $9,500**

I contemplated as to whether or not I should take the weapon or proceed through the list in hopes of finding a similar yet cheaper weapon, and I'm well-aware that I'm being a cheapskate right now but considering what can be bought in the market with the right funds, I was justified in my behavior. However, the weapon was more a matter of necessity than a matter of want, and I made my decision then and there to purchase it before I changed my mind.

 **Currency: $48,450**

 **[New item received! [Light of the North] has been placed in inventory!]**

I sighed, another weapon to buy ammunition for, but I suppose it is worth it to combat the likely deadly foes that wield magic. Velyn Kurst is a threat that cannot be taken lightly, based on the current information on the mage I have at my disposal, it's highly probable that I will suffer some form of damage regardless of my own armor or skill. Nonetheless, I'll be willing to take any advantage I can get over the person, even if I may have to use the Lancer-Class Frigate on the guy.

Running a hand through my hair, I turned away from the stall, now seeking out the secondary weapon I had on my mental list - a rapier. My baton is good, yes, but it doesn't possess the same precision and speed as a sword does when I engage in combat. While it is not needed for the time being, it will nevertheless be useful in the long-run should I eventually need a weapon like it.

Wandering around the marketplace once more for a suitable type of rapier, it was no surprise that I had eventually come upon what I was looking for, which was to be expected as I can now say that the marketplace sells everything and anything. Nonetheless, the vendor had various bladed or sword-like objects ranging from a regular pocket knife to a zweihander to futuristic weapons named the 'Lightsaber' and a 'Power Sword'.

Several of the weapons on the list were intriguing, as they seemed like they were meant for precision strikes against foes. However, only one appeared more interesting than its fellows, and it was what I had been looking for. The rapier was silver, but it appeared it had another color added into the mix, a light blue hue enveloped it whole, barely visible to the naked eye, and it appeared more as an elongated saber after thorough examination.

 **[Caerulus Mors]  
** **[Rank: A-]  
** **[Grade: Epic]  
[Durability: 100,000/100,000]  
[Description: Caerulus Mors translates to 'Blue Death', this rapier/saber hybrid has seen much action through various battles and wars, and it has never once been nicked by a regular weapon in the field of combat nor has it ever dulled. Wielded by various figures of power, Caerulus Mors holds the spirit of a lesser Ice Sprite in its thrall, having been useful for the course of millennia. There are several other blades like this, and legend has it once someone collects all the blades, a being of power composed of the spirits of the blades will come forth and serve the user.]**

 **Effects:  
+2,500 Physical Damage  
+Precision Strike (Lands a critical hit, double that of standard damage)  
+Ice Sprite Summon (Brings forth a lesser spirit of ice - 5,000 MP per minute to maintain)**

 **Cost: $21,900**

I nearly did a spit-take in shock and surprise, a bit under half of my funds were worth the rapier! It was indeed a weapon grade far above anything that I have thus far - barring Crowd Control - and it had the capabilities to _summon_ a spirit to fight for me at a high cost considering my current amount of Mana. However, applying a few of my awaiting skill points into the Intelligence and Wisdom would allow me to maintain the ice sprite indefinitely with the right amount but I had reminded myself to save the points and earn higher stats through 'natural' means as Sera had said.

Getting off topic, I - albeit hesitantly - bought the sword, and I winced lightly at the decrease in number of my funds, halved by the purchase. Hopefully, I do not regret this later on, as the sword could quite possibly decide a life or death matter should I wield it in such a situation.

 **[New item received! [Caerulus Mors] has been placed in inventory!]**

 **Currency: $26,550**

With three items that could very well change the tide of any war on Terros - if used correctly, that is - I would need to get a feel of said items - barring the Lancer-Class Frigate seeing as it is a .6 kilometer ship that could possibly be sold for millions on the market.

Nonetheless, I reached into my inventory with both hands in front of me, grasping firmly onto what I can assume is the hilt of Caerulus Mors and the grip of Light of the North, and I slowly brought both out of the confines of my inventory space.

Caerulus Mors' hilt had an intricate looking foil design, curling vines appearing as in place of the regular umbrella-like foil, eventually leading up to the silver blade itself which had a small image of a snowflake carved into it. If I were to guess, I would say that the entire sword itself just barely under four feet, the blade making up four-fifths of the length. However, as I held it in my hand, it felt somewhat... awkward, would be my choice of words but considering how easily adaptable a Gamer is said to be, I'll eventually develop a skill for swordsmanship, and with time and experience, I would be an expert with swords.

Light of the North on the other hand, it was eased completely in my grip, holding a multitude of firearms over the course of many years had allowed me to become used to such a weight. The gold plated firearm shone in the light(?) of the Hub, it had a streak of silver running across the barrel, connecting to the design of a tree without its leaves located on the revolver's main body, it seemed incredibly aesthetically pleasing as I spun it around in my hand.

I threw both back into my inventory, and stared at the Lancer-Class Frigate that remained awaiting in my inventory space, and I hesitantly reached forward at the item that took up about as much space as any other item in my inventory.

 **[Lancer-Class Frigate Options:**

 **1\. View Interior [Y/N]  
**

 **2\. Retrieve Personnel [Y/N]**

 **3\. Retrieve Armament [Y/N]]**

 **[Warship State: INACTIVE]**

 **[Activate - [Y/N]]**

Well, at least it hadn't immediately appeared before me - that would no doubt cause some disarray in the Hub with the appearance of a six hundred meter warship - but rather, gave me some options regarding the ship as to what to do with it. I can assume 'Activate' means to release it from my inventory, and I had to hold off on that for the moment until I'm back on Terros, and I can also assume that 'Retrieve Personnel' or 'Retrieve Armament' meant to take the crew or the ship's munitions, respectively.

Seeing as I didn't need numbers two or three, I tapped **[Y]** on **[View Interior]** , and the very same light that transported me to the Hub had enveloped me, I no longer felt solid ground beneath me, but that feeling left as soon as it came. Instead of the solid pavement of the Hub under me, it was replaced with a metallic floor that had resounded with a clang when I had appeared.

Looking around, I had realized I was on what was possibly the bridge of the Lancer-Class Frigate, the - I assume - crew was milling about, but mostly idle considering that outside the view port of the bridge was simply... white, the Void. The naval crewmen had beige-colored uniforms, padded with some form of ballistic armor focused around the chest and neck areas.

"Ahem," I turned around as someone had signaled for my attention, "I can assume you are Raphael D'Angelo, if I'm right?"

The man was the Captain of the frigate if the medals and cap were any indication, nearly a dozen of the former were emblazoned on the right breast, along with a peaked cap that presented an eagle with three arrows held in its claws. Holstered at his hip was a large firearm of some sort, which was the only weapon I had spotted on his person, along with an extra bit of armor compared to his subordinates, a single pauldron worn on his right shoulder.

"I am," I responded. "I can assume as well that you are the Captain of this vessel?"

He nodded, "Indeed I am, Michael Nobles has sent my ship to serve under you eternally, that being said, I have a message for you coming from him." He presented a small disc, barely the size of his palm, and tapped it.

What appeared from the now-glowing disc was a small figure, presumably Michael Nobles as the Captain had said, however, his holographic form was simply all-blue - giving no hint of the colors of his physical form. Swept back hair, face set in a regal one, clad in armor that made his head look puny in comparison, a rather large pair of wings behind him followed by a halo over his head, I had a feeling that such cosmetics were not for show.

" _Hello, if this message is being played then this means you must be Raphael D'Angelo, and my messenger has gotten to you, gifting you this ship courtesy of myself. While such a gift is no doubt considered a bit too much to you, this ship, the Venerable Crusader, is my investment in_ you." Investment? " _When you had appeared on my radar, my interest was piqued, and I had a feeling that you're a special case much like myself when Gaia had chosen us to become her Gamers._ "

The hologram seemed to shrug, " _Special cases like us gain certain advantages over the rest of the Gamers, be it in terms of our skills, or less restrictions placed upon our Game systems. So far, Gabriel Procellas and myself are only such cases, however, that has changed now that you are among us. It is best to assume that Gabriel will also come to you, baring his own gifts, either personally or through a messenger - I do not know._ " A small sigh was released from the hologram, " _Be wary of Gabriel, he can be a bit... exuberant. But for now, enjoy my gift to you D'Angelo, I will be monitoring your progress closely._ "

With that, the hologram disappeared, the disc's glow fading away as it went inactive, then the holder of said disc put it down.

"Raphael D'Angelo, I am Captain Julius Vitae of the _FS Venerable Crusader_ , the ship and its crew are now yours to command," He snapped to salute, as did the rest of the naval crewmen on the bridge of the _Venerable Crusader_.

It seems as though they shared the same respect as the companions and support units I currently had under my command. I suppose that's a little over two hundred men and women under my command now, along with a space-capable ship, to me that seems like the start of my own galactic empire should I get a planet or moon to colonize - perhaps that is what Michael had intended for me with the _Venerable Crusader_?

"Erm..." I focused on Captain Vitae, "At ease, Captain, can you guide me to whatever counts as infantry or combat personnel on this ship?"

He nodded, "Of course, two squads of Augmented Advanced Assault Marines, or A3M, are assigned to this ship. These two squads have five men and women in each squad, usually they're put to use in special operations or forward assault missions."

Odd name, but I was rather elated to have ten fully-trained - augmented - soldiers under my command, perhaps I shoulder consider the deployment of the two squads into Terros, as I did not have Hal or the Recon Marines accompanying me on my bounty hunt for the head of Velyn Kurst. Hopefully they'll be quite useful in combat if I put them to the test on Terros as I very much doubt that this 'Terran Federation' has faced any magic-wielding foes, as I assume such enemies would be rare for interstellar empires.

With Captain Vitae guiding me through the ship, I had gotten a fairly decent layout of the ship, however, as we had passed by various members of the crew I had noticed only a few of them were armed, blue stripes marked on their shoulders, security personnel I assume - wielding the same firearms as Vitae.

 **[SIP Warhawk Mk.4]  
** **[Rank: E]  
** **[Grade: Common]  
** **[Durability: 5,500/5,500]  
** **[Description: The SIP - Standard Infantry Pistol - Warhawk Mk.4 is the latest generation of small arms for military personnel, being extremely reliant upon for its rugged durability, meant to last for quite a while. The SIP was made by Hannsen Firearms Foundation, the main supplier of weaponry for the Terran Federation, this small weapon holds 5.56x45mm caliber rounds.]**

 **[Effects:  
+150 Physical Damage]**

The SIP Warhawk seems like an interesting weapon, a reliable firearm as the description had said, I shrugged before continuing my stride after Captain Vitae, an unimportant item to me but it could still be useful as a backup weapon if it lives up to its own description.

However, I stopped as Vitae did before a set of doors, "Here we are, the living quarters for the A3M squads." He gestured over to a button next to the doors, "They will most likely be preparing, considering our current circumstances."

Vitae pushed the button, and the pair of doors slid open, revealing the living quarters of the A3M - the barracks being certainly more spacious than my tenure in the USMC - the mentioned soldiers being in the middle of their dressing. The men being clad only in a pair of shorts, the women had the same along with - thankfully - a sports bra, it seemed as though they had just awoken as they drew their own formal attire from lockers.

However, with our entrance, they almost-immediately turned our way and snapped to attention with salutes.

"Captain Vitae, sir." One of them spoke up, a female A3M. "Squad Gamma-27 is fully operational."

Another one stepped up, male this time. "Eta-4 as well, Captain."

"Excellent, as you may know, we are to be put under service of Raphael D'Angelo - the man standing beside me - for eternity till our deaths or his own." The A3Ms' turned their attention away from Vitae and to me, and they shot me a salute. "They'll be yours to handle and deploy as you see fit, sir."

I hummed, "I have no need of them right now, but they'll be kept in mind."

Vitae nodded, "I see, then will that be all?"

"One more thing, I'd like dossiers on the members of the A3M on this ship." I was curious of the backgrounds of the two squads that are now mine to command.

"Well, we do not have hard copies, as you might have been used to." Vitae walked over to a metal table, taking up a PDA atop it. "Nonetheless, we do have their dossiers on hand in data-pads such as these. Here, take it." He offered me the mentioned data-pad, and I took it.

I nodded in thanks, "I appreciate it Captain Vitae, farewell."

 **Return to Campaign World**... Once again, a flash of light consumed my entire being, and I had found myself staring at the trunk of the tree I had nearly collided with before traveling to the Hub. Going around said tree, I had begun my hunt for Velyn Kurst. Activating the Lancer-Class Frigate will have to wait, as the appearance of such a ship in the skies will no doubt attract many prying eyes that I would rather not have. Nonetheless, I went around the tree and began my search for Velyn.

...

Where do I start...?

 **[Quest: [A+ Bounty: Necromancer - Velyn Kurst] Tracker has been activated!]**

Wonderful.

A blue arrow appeared on the ground before me, pointing in the direction that I assume where Velyn is, I was quite fortunate to have such an ability as it get rids of the painstaking work to find the objective for long-term quests. As I began following the arrow, I had noticed that Terros' sun was still in the same position as it was when I had left for the Hub, another ability that's quite handy for me to have as every second on Terros counts.

* * *

 **(Day 1 of Hunting Velyn Kurst)  
**

Several hours of walking had eventually bore fruit, there were bodies of more Furorean people laid out on the dirt path I was traveling on, fortunately there were a few piles of bones with rusted weapons beside them here and there that indicated that it was Velyn's doing, unfortunately the bodies did not look recent as they had decayed much.

I shook my head, these poor people being slaughtered like animal in the path of Velyn Kurst, that damned necromancer.

Since I did not have the time to bury their bodies, what-with Velyn getting further away from me with every minute, I had gathered the bodies in a 'neat' pile and set them aflame and I had not stayed as I rather not have the smell of burning flesh on my mind.

I continued my hunt, regardless of the fact that it was night, and my own abilities had allowed me to forsake sleep with no consequences at all.

* * *

 **(Day 2 of Hunting Velyn Kurst)**

 **MS (Mana Shield): 364,500 (Durability Points)**

Another horrible encounter with the results of the necromancer's powers and servants, this time there was a significant increase in the amount of bodies and skeletons. It was a small village, no bigger than Kyros, I estimated, but it seemed that the locals this time were armed and were willing to fight back as I saw the bodies of the villagers having pitchforks, cleavers, or axes laid beside them in death-grips. Even if it was a useless folly, I assume that they had managed to save a few of their own in the process.

However, what with the war between Furore and Perros, the village was no doubt lacking a large amount of helping hands to fight, evident with the fact that there were few bodies of men - those that were, were elderly or young - and women took up most of the body count.

Unfortunately, I did not have the time to lay their bodies to rest, as there were at least two scores of the dead and the time needed to gather and burn them would take far too long for my own liking, and with a heavy heart I trudged on forwards, continuing my hunt. Hopefully, their bodies would not be desecrated, or having

I ignored sleeping once more... and in it's place, my own determination for killing Velyn burned, I had passed the time by reading over the PDA that was handed to me.

Staff Sergeant Maria Kohl led Gamma-27, from what I skimmed over, Maria was a seasoned A3M that had seen battle within various campaigns. She was the victim of muscular enhancement injections and a occipital capillary reversal, leading to improved muscle tissue and eyesight respectively - learning that the A3Ms' only took two augmentations, any further would lead to a high probability of death.

Sergeant Mark Valeryevich led Eta-4, a relatively new A3M fresh out of training, only noted to have participated in a small skirmish. He was subjected to muscular enhancement injections much like Maria, but he had a catalytic thyroid implant - boosting growth of skeletal and muscle tissues.

They'd be useful in dealing with Velyn, when the time comes I should call upon them.

Originally, I had no opinion on Velyn, but with the death and destruction following in his wake, my hatred for him steadily grew.

* * *

 **(Day 3 of Hunting Velyn Kurst)**

 **MS (Mana Shield): 688,500 (Durability Points)**

I was near Velyn, his recent actions had told me so, a small group of Furorean foot soldiers surrounded by several dozen piles of bones was rather recent. Observe had also worked on the fallen, thus the reason as to how I knew it was the soldiers of Furore.

The soldiers were garbed with a white and yellow tunic under a set of chain-mail, along with a kettle helmet atop each of their heads. Laid next to the fallen men and women were either spears or short-swords, with a single recurve bow among them, with the amount of bones surrounding them, it was clear that they had put up a good fight. Although, their corpses were in various states of dismemberment and their pigment had a slight sickly green to it, I frowned at the thought.

However, I was _very_ close to my bounty, and I had made the decision to bring out the A3M squads, tapping **[Y]** on **[Retrieve Personnel]** , bringing up a list of the crew, fortunately they were separated into tabs thus I found them easily. From there, an option to retrieve them was beside their individual tabs, all I had to do was merely click **[Y]** , which I had done already.

A simple flash of light later, and both squads of A3M were before me, clad in armor far advanced than anything from my current time on Earth. A form of a rather dark gray power armor had covered their bodies in plates, whatever was not covered was replaced by a black skin-tight fiber. Their helmets were rather triangular that pointed down towards their face, encasing their entire head, and a single glowing blue line went across the front. It did not seem like any visible view-port was present, so I assume that there was a camera that had allowed them to see the outside via a HUD.

What they were armed with however, were sleek rifles looking similar to an XM8 slung over their shoulders. Holstered at their hips was the SIP Warhawk Mk.4, along with a few grenades hanging off a belt strapped to one of the armor plates.

 **[TRR Locust]  
** **[Rank: E+]  
[Grade: Common]  
[Durability: 7,500/7,500]  
[Description: The TRR - Terran Ranger Rifle - is the latest in a long line of firearms serving the ground forces of the Terran Federation. Taking much of its design from the XM-8, the TRR Locust fires rounds at hypersonic speeds, utilizing 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket rounds, thirty in each magazine. The Locust has dual laser sights mounted on the underside and top of the barrel, however, the rifle requires constant maintenance as it cannot handle certain environments such as swamps or desert areas.]**

 **[Effects:  
+475 Physical Damage]**

A significant amount of damage increase compared to the SIP Warhawk. Nonetheless, it will get the job done when it comes to fighting Velyn and his undead army. The two A3M squads saluted to me, treating me no differently from any superior ranking officer.

"At ease," I told them and they dropped their salutes. "I need both of your squads to follow me to eliminate a high value target."

" _Yes sir_." A slightly muffled voice came from one of the A3M, possibly squad leader Maria considering the feminine voice and the blue trim on her armor. " _It is our purpose after all, to serve you_."

I cocked a brow, just like that they had followed my orders without question, not even asking for a simple debrief on Velyn? No matter, it would save myself much more time to continue the hunt rather than explaining the target to them. However, I'd prefer it if I have soldiers that questioned me, not ones whom would follow an order regardless of what it was.

Continuing to follow the blue arrow, I strode forth, the crunching of boots behind me informed me that they had indeed followed my orders.

* * *

 **(Several Dozen Minutes Later)**

" _Sir, contact on motion sensors, twelve o'clock multiple contacts. We would be outnumbered if we were to engage, several hundred meters ahead._ " Maria informed, raising her Locust, as did the rest of the squads.

Narrowing my eyes to our front, I did not see any form of movement aside from the slight rustle of bushes - a likely result of the winds of Furore - and the stray forest animal. However, what I heard was completely the opposite, aside from the chittering of the local fauna, there was a nearly silent sound of the rattling of bones with the occasional 'boom' sound in the mix. I made a gesture to move forward, the element of surprise being our advantage to use, as I have no doubt that Velyn has more undead beings that are not only the Iniqua Ultor or simple skeletons.

I have full confidence in the A3M to deal with the regular skeletons, and the Iniqua Ultor as well as its equivalents should Velyn have any, all it takes is the skill that I hope that they have. However, as we moved in an arrowhead formation the sound intensified, and the clashing of swords became prominent as well. Fortunately, the forest we were in had the trees spread about enough for us to move unimpeded, but clumped enough to only allow a few rays of sunlight into the area.

"- _old off these damned abominations_ _! Protect the people in the name of the king!_ " A voice shouted, and my eyes widened in surprise, Velyn was in the process of another slaughter!

I doubled my efforts, striding forth in a jog and I drew both Light of the North and Caerulus Mors. Dual-wielding a sword and a revolver seems... unwise, but I'll find out when I engage the enemy. As we neared the source of the fighting, it seemed as though we were reaching the edge considering the scathing blinding light ahead of us.

The A3M and I ran out of the forest, and I raised my right - sword in hand - arm to cover myself, but I assume that the A3M did not have the same problems as I did considering their helmets. The scene in front of us - some serious déjà vu here - was a skirmish - if you could call it that - between Furorean soldiers and a massive horde of various undead in the smoldering ruins of what was once likely a village. Skeletons, literal corpses, undead beasts or animals, and a few of the Iniqua Ultor among the horde. Meanwhile, the Furorean soldiers had made a small circle in the middle of the swarm, a few unarmed civilians were right in the middle of them as the fighting went on.

On the outer group of the horde was a hovering figure, a few meters off the ground to make it stand out among the sea of white, green, and silver, said hovering figure was waving around a scepter that casted bolts of dark purple energy at the circle of Furoreans. I quickly made the conclusion that the last group of Furorean soldiers that Velyn had slaughtered was likely a small detachment of the main group to make time for them to escape, but it appeared that their sacrifice was in vain.

"Eta-4 and Gamma-27, focus on the horde, and prioritize the ones in silver armor - they're especially dangerous." I ordered them, turning to the A3M squads. "I'll eliminate the leader."

" _Yessir, squads moving to engage the enemy._ " Maria acknowledged, raising her rifle, and the rest of them had followed as they surged forth to take advantageous positions.

 **[Major Battle Incoming! EXP Notifications Disabled!]  
** **[Enemy Force Composition: 727x Skeletons, 4x Iniqua Ultor, 2x Immortuae Exuro, 1x Silens Mundi, 1x (Velyn Kurst)]  
** **[Allied Force Composition: 10x A3M, 37x Furorean Footmen, 4x Furorean Archers]  
** **[Threat Level: (A-)]**

I turned back towards the swarm of Velyn, the blue arrow no longer apparent to guide me as my target was already before me, and I ran forward as gunfire erupted from behind me, signaling the supporting fire of the A3M. I raised Caerulus Mors, hoping to bring forth the Ice Sprite embedded in the sword as I ran dangerously closer to the horde.

" **(Summon Ice Sprite)**..." I whispered, holding the blade close, hoping that calling forth the Ice Sprite would be the same as summoning a Fireball.

After a moment of nothing, I despaired internally as I had no idea how to call it forth, but that despair disappeared as quickly as it came as the blade started glowing. It flickered briefly before a mist gathered and followed me as I ran, it was chilling but from the mist a figure slowly formed, a being with a curvy body formed and the chest was more pronounced - which confirmed that the spirit was female - but her entire body was made of ice. As the eyes formed, they were a glowing sapphire blue, they flickered briefly to me then to the horde that was in front of me, her body gliding across the ground as she followed.

She nodded at me for whatever reason and went ahead of me, the mist now following after her, thickening. The Ice Sprite collided with the outer edges of the horde, sending a group of them up into the air, and barely saw the frost gathering on their already-fragile bones, eventually they broke apart in mid-air as the frost turned them into nothing but millions of broken fragments.

The hooded figure - Velyn - eventually noticed what had happened to his own servants, and turned in our direction, the man refocused the use of his scepter towards the Ice Sprite and myself, the purple bolts shot toward us. Before the bolts could even hit me, the Ice Sprite had thrown up the mist, and it had instantly turned into ice, forming a wall between me and Velyn. They clashed against the wall of ice, but the wall never cracked nor faltered before the onslaught.

However, I tensed as the Ice Sprite began cracking herself, and I swore as I had nearly forgotten the timer on the spirit and my mana was down by a thousand, certainly not enough to hold her for a minute. I quickly dove to the right as the Ice Sprite had completely cracked and shattered, disappearing into small fragments of ice as the mist had disappeared as well, the quickly bolts pelting the ground beside me.

I ran in a serpentine pattern towards Velyn, maneuvering around his magic attacks directed at me, but my stride was impeded by his own servants standing in my way. I clumsily stabbed and slashed the grunts with Caerulus Mors, I almost nearly gave it up for drawing my M1911 but a notification had stopped me from doing so.

 **(Sword Mastery) (Passive) (Level: 1/100)**

 **Description: This skill represents your current mastery over swords, while this skill does not show a specific stance or technique relating to the type of sword you are wielding, it will refer to the standard movements and attacks required for your current blade in hand. As this skill levels up, the more comfortable you will become with swords, as well as improvement in accuracy and attack speed.**

 **Effects:  
2% Accuracy  
2% Attack Speed  
2% Basic Techniques**

As I separated a skeleton's skull from its body, I had barely noticed the small change in my hold of Caerulus Mors, even if it was a small increase it became somewhat easier to wield and precisely hit the enemies before me. I froze just as I struck down a skeleton, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

 **(Danger Sense) (Passive) (Level: 1/20)**

 **Description: Danger Sense is the ability to sense incoming blows one to two seconds before it connects or enemy contact near you, essentially being the sixth sense, however, as the skill begins it has a small percentage to sense incoming danger. As this skill levels up, the percentage to sense incoming danger increases, at full mastery you will be able to fully dodge or block incoming blows or prepare for incoming enemies.**

 **Effects:  
5% Danger Sense**

I spun around as I felt the warning resound from behind me, raising Caerulus Mors in time to block a dagger aimed for my back. The user of the dagger was a figure shrouded in darkness, a complete anomaly in contrast to the stark shining sunlight coming down upon the ruined town.

Shoving back the attacker and rolling to the left and hopping back to avoid another volley of bolts, I managed to get a good look of it, the shadowy being seemed to absorb the light around it and there were hardly any signs of its physical appearance, to myself it was merely just a being made of shadows. Before I could continue musing on the subject, the being surged forward, prompting me to raise Caerulus Mors and Light of the North as it disappeared and reappeared in a zig-zag formation.

However, I winced as I made the mistake of ignoring Velyn, a volley of his magic slammed into my back but the Mana Shield had done its job by absorbing all of the damage, and I was hardly affected by it.

 **MS (Mana Shield): 654,440 (Durability Points)**

Ignoring the fact that he managed to take out thirty thousand points from my Mana Shield, I re-focused on the shadow being just as it had drew closer to me, but enough time to properly predict where it would reappear next. I held my breath as it disappeared, and watched as it reappeared again closer to me, a few feet away from me - I was surprised by the short distance traveled with each jump it made but it would work to my advantage - as it disappeared once more!

I surged forth, Caerulus Mors poised to strike, hoping that it would reappear where I thought it would as I swung down - just as it reappeared! The pristine silver blade tore through the right shoulder blade of the being, covering Caerulus Mors in ink-like blood as the wound sprayed out more of the being's 'life-essence', the latter being splattered across my face and the shadow let loose an inhuman screech of pain that tore through my ears.

I flinched, spluttering as I released Caerulus Mors from my hand to wipe the being's blood off of me, fortunately, it was dead before it even hit the ground - dying via blood loss through the mass wound going through its shoulder to the right breast. Quickly grabbing and re-affirming my hold of Caerulus Mors, I spun around to face Velyn just as another volley collided with me head-on.

 **MS (Mana Shield): 624,440 (Durability Points)**

Being caught off-guard from the attack, I staggered backwards, nearly falling on my ass but I maintained my balance and strode forth to attack the necromancer. As I came closer, Velyn ceased his attacks and raised both arms above him, four dark purple shields following in his wake, hovering around him protectively.

Raising Light of the North in mid-stride, I fired at one of his shields, a shining projectile flying out of the barrel collided with the barrier - causing it to crack upon impact. Frowning at the effect it had, I cocked the revolver and aimed for the same shield, I had forgotten to buy .44 ammunition for Light of the North, thus I had to use my five remaining rounds sparingly. I had also need not worry for Velyn's servants, as the A3M provided suppressing fire, allowing me to take him on without anymore interference.

Sliding to cover behind a rock, I waited for Velyn to unleash another volley, and just as he did so I rose out of cover already firing upon the cracked shield. It shattered, leaving behind three shields and a single gap in the necromancer's defenses.

It was all too easy- and I regret my words immediately as he began gliding towards me.

I leaped out of cover and rolled onto my feet just as the rock exploded in a shower of pebbles, it was idiotic of me to assume that Velyn would remain in a single position for the duration of the battle. I raised Light of the North, only to have it shot out of my hands as one of Velyn's bolts shot it out of my hand, sending it spinning into the middle of a group of skeletons. I cursed, looking back at the gun before turning back to Velyn, as I now held onto Caerulus Mors with both hands.

* * *

 **(Terros - Janus Continent - Kingdom of Furore - Outskirts of the Town of Jakal)  
(Third Person POV - A3M - Several Minutes Earlier)**

Staff Sergeant Maria Kohl along with her subordinates were shooting to kill, well, its equivalent as the undead were already killed once before. The TRR Locust was precise in its firing, requiring one or two rounds to eliminate a skeleton, but they had yet to face the Iniqua Ultor, or the Immortuae Exuro - the true threats of the horde aside from the necromancer himself.

" _Squad, engage hostiles near the center, prioritize targets engaging the local military force._ " She ordered, speaking into close-range communications between them. " _Valeryevich, get your squad to provide assistance to our C.O_."

" _A-Affirmative, providing suppressing fire._ " Sergeant Mark Valeryevich complied, re-directing Eta-4 to fire upon Velyn Kurst as they moved to separate cover.

The ten enhanced human soldiers stood a good thirty meters away from the undead horde, hypersonic 7.62x51mm FMJ rounds easily shattered their fragile bodies, and with coordinated fire among the A3M they had already eliminated approximately three dozen of the rank and file in the undead horde. Unfortunately, they had eventually drew the attention of one of the Iniqua Ultor, this one wielding a great sword and clad in simple plate mail armor, barring the helmet. However, its armor and weapon seemed... corrupted as it had various veins that were a dark purple, similar to Velyn's own magic.

An interesting fact of the Iniqua Ultor, they were not simply created out of thin air, but former C-Rank warriors and above resurrected as corrupted servants using great amounts of mana, a similar process to the Silens Mundi and Immortuae Exuro. The target must be infused with the user's mana, requiring a certain glyph made to perfection placed on the target's body. Considering that the resurrected will retain their former skills, the mana infused in them will also grant them extra abilities, such as blades of air to be thrown from their swords and mana shields of their own - albeit weak ones.

The Iniqua Ultor hissed, raising its blade, and brought it down in a backslash similar to the one that Raphael had engaged last time. A thin vertical blade of air came at Gamma-27, however, they were not aware of said blade of air as it could only be seen by the naked eye or magic-related means, which meant that it could not be seen by the cameras attached to the sides of their helmets to view the world around them.

Such a disadvantage made one unknowing A3M have the blade of air collide with his body, sending him sprawling back as his armor plates absorbed most of the damage wrought from the attack. However, even if most of the damage was absorbed, he still received critical injuries - internal bleeding and fractured bones.

" _Daniels is down! Alan, give him medical aid!_ " Maria barked, even more wary at the sudden assault. " _And find out where the hell that attack came from!_ "

As one of the A3M - Alan - with a red cross marked on his left breastplate broke away from the squad and approached the now-identified Daniels, the Iniqua Ultor prepared to attack once more, fortunately Maria had spotted it in mid-preparation. Unfortunately, she could not open fire on it in time as the Iniqua Ultor brought down its blade.

" _Get down!_ " The three A3M of Gamma-27 leaped to the side or ducked, Maria herself narrowly avoiding the attack just by a hair as it sliced a tree behind her in half, and she swore at the effect of the attack. " _Prioritize that target!_ " She marked the Iniqua Ultor on her HUD, shared with her subordinates.

The three A3M opened fire with their Locusts', coordinated fire whittled down the Iniqua Ultor's mana shield, eventually shattering it as one of the A3M threw grenade at it and the surrounding undead. The grenade had its intended effect as it completely blew apart the Iniqua Ultor along with the dozen or so skeletons around it. With the death of the Iniqua Ultor, its brethren turned their attention away from the Furorean platoon and towards the three members of Gamma-27, intent on avenging their brother.

Meanwhile, as the three A3M of Gamma-27 faced off against three Iniqua Ultor, Eta-4 forced Velyn to focus on them as Raphael fought the Silens Mundi, forcing the necromancer to redirect his bolt-fire at the five-man team of A3M - which also forced the latter into cover behind trees or rocks. They rose from cover just as Velyn ceased his attack and for Raphael to kill the Silens Mundi, before the A3M could fire upon Velyn, a ball of green fire collided with one of them, casting her left arm aflame.

The All-Terrain Environmental Assault Suit, or ATEAS, that was standard for all A3M forces provided fairly decent resistance to the fire on her arm, fortunately the fire did not last long, unfortunately there were several third-degree burns across her left arm and the ATEAS surrounding said arm was in tatters with the armor plates having been slightly burned through. Even with her augmentations, she slumped back onto a tree, cradling her arm as she dropped her Locust in the process, but she never cried out in pain.

 _"_ _Chase is down! Mordecai, provide medical assistance to her!_ " Mark ordered, " _Find the target that attacked Chas-!_ " Sergeant Valeryevich rolled to the side behind another rock just as another ball of fire collided onto the ground beside him, he had fortunately spotted it in time to avoid such damage.

The squad leader for Eta-4 rose up from his cover, intent on finding his squad's attacker, but from what he spotted among the undead horde there were only two of them look straight at his squad, and they were the most heavily disfigured and grotesque figures out of the entire swarm.

The body was a disgusting shade of green, and its head was horribly bloated with pus leaking out of all of its orifices and other. Where its eyes would be were two sockets, a river of dark purple blood streamed out of the sockets, never seeming to stop. However, the most terrifying part of the Immortuae Exuro was its torso, the entire front of its chest was ripped open and the ribs were visible as more purple blood streamed out of the very large open wound, but if that was not enough, most if not all of its internal organs were gone and in its place was a glowing green sac.

The A3M Sergeant never saw anything like it, but was nonetheless revolted at the sight as he marked the two Immortuae Exuro on the HUDs of his squad as priority targets. As he and his squad prepared to engage the two deformed undead beings, the battle between Velyn and Raphael began where it was left off.

Out of ten A3M, only eight remained as two were out of commission due to injuries, but this had fortunately left the Furorean platoon to deal with the - numerically superior - rank and file undead soldiers of Velyn Kurst.

* * *

 **(Raphael's POV)**

I reeled back as Velyn released a shockwave, causing me to only stagger temporarily, which was all the time the necromancer needed as he flew forward at me, where even I had felt his murderous intent directed at me. I leaped to the side, allowing Velyn to fly past me - destroying any life in his path in the progress -, the momentum in his flight had significantly reduced his ability to turn mid-flight which was a horrible flaw in its design - but I suppose the necromancer was just a lazy bastard.

Lifting myself up, I saw that Light of the North was no longer surrounded by skeletons, perhaps they had possibly joined in with the rest of the increasingly smaller horde in engaging the Furorean soldiers and I scrambled to grab it before Velyn could attack again.

Rushing towards and picking up the revolver, I spun around to fire it at Velyn, but I was far too late as he flew in too close for me to fire and I was carried by the momentum of his flight. I cringed at the slight sizzling sound emanating from our contact, and I had a feeling that it was my Mana Shield taking the blow for me.

Eventually, he had stopped but I did not as the momentum carried me on and send me rolling across the ground, stopping as I collided with a rock in my path, leaving me disoriented.

 **Status Effect [Antithesis of Life] has been inflicted upon you! -1000 HP per minute, MP Disabled, (HP Regeneration Disabled)! 0:59 Seconds Remaining!**

 **MS (Mana Shield): 217,990 (Durability Points)**

I swore at the massive loss of points in my Mana Shield, over four hundred thousand points had been removed just from that attack along with the status effect that did not do much beside disable the regeneration of my health and disabling my Mana. I unsteadily rose to my feet, intending on finishing this fight before Velyn manages to injure and kill me, already over half of my Mana Shield was gone during this battle.

Raising Light of the North, I aimed down the sights as Velyn prepared to rush forward again, I opened fire as he began to fly forward, ignoring the fact that there were still three shields that revolved around the necromancer. The bullet flew toward him, and it apparently nicked the edge of one of the shields, ricocheting off it and still managing to hit the necromancer. While it wasn't a killing shot, I heard a shatter that likely indicated the destruction of his Mana Shield, and he stopped mid-flight, crashing down into the ground as his shields and cloak dissipated at the same time.

The first sound I had heard from the necromancer thus far was a cry of pain as he lifted himself up with his hands, but was not able to stand up, the bullet had probably ricocheted into his leg - effectively crippling him for the time being. That being said... I took no chances as I kept Light of the North raised at Velyn's head as his body began to rack with what I assume were sobs, I hummed at that, either he was fearing for his life or he had never felt physical pain for too long.

Walking over to my bounty, I kicked his side, to force him onto his back so I could finally get a good look of his facial features. As the necromancer turned over, now-holding his side in pain, his features were that of an... old man, yet he displayed emotions befitting that of a child as he bawled his eyes out.

Shaking my head in disappointment at such behavior shown from someone who was responsible for the slaughter of the people of Furore and who knows what other peoples, it was almost hard to believe that this was _Velyn Kurst_ , but with evidence of the undead army among my surroundings it was indeed him.

Nonetheless, I pointed the barrel of Light of the North at the soon-to-be-dead necromancer's head, and his whimpering intensified, I best not jinx it and deal with the threat that had only presented dangerous talent in magic, but absolutely no skill in physical combat that was the equivalent of a toddler.

"W-Wait, pleas-" I cut him off by pulling the trigger, the first and last words I will ever hear from the now-deceased Velyn Kurst as his brain matter splattered across the dirt, a gaping hole now left in the necromancer's forehead.

 **[Quest Completed - A+ Bounty: Necromancer - Velyn Kurst]  
[+$250,000, +500,000 EXP, Grudge (Omega - Item 1/9 Set Complete)**

 **[Major Battle Results: EXP Notifications Enabled]  
** **[Threats Eliminated: 727x Lvl. 11 Skeletons, 3x Lvl.34 Iniqua Ultor, 1x Lvl.33 Iniqua Ultor, 2x Lvl.46 Immortuae Exuro, 1x Lvl.44 Silens Mundi, 1x Lvl.98 (Velyn Kurst)]  
** **[Threat Level (A-) Rewards: $75,000, 150,000 EXP]  
[EXP Distribution: +181,750 EXP, +13,000 EXP, +4,250 EXP, +18,000 EXP, +8,500 EXP, +35,000 EXP = +260,500 EXP (+150,000 EXP = +410,500 EXP)**

 **You are now Lvl.36!  
(EXP: 42,650/72,000)**

 **Currency: $351,550**

Definitely worth it now...

* * *

 **AN: My apologies for being late with this chapter, I was a bit preoccupied, but I release upon you this chapter! Please, give me your thoughts on this chapter, is it rushed, sloppy, outright terrible? You - my readers - should note that I want reviews more than anything, as every bit of criticism helps me improve upon my creation of new chapters for you folks to read, but reviews are also the bane of my existence as my morale could get destroyed from one review with a paragraph of insults about my style of writing. ;-;**

 **For those of you who want the full stats of Raphael, go to my profile, the full profile along with his skills and weapons are posted on there! There's also some future story ideas for you folks to see and hope - probably never - to read them should I ever get around to them!**

 **Also, IT'S SUMMER! WHOOOOOO!**


	6. Arc 1: Emergency, Omega, Seraphine

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - Continent of Janus - Kingdom of Furore - Village of Jakal)  
(Raphael's POV)**

I breathed out a sigh of relief as the Antithesis of Life wore off, looking down at the body of Velyn Kurst, his apparently long life now over and hunting him down was quite worth it as my level was nearly doubled from the results of the battle. Now to confirm that I had indeed killed him, I leaned down and grabbed the necromancer's wrist, bringing it up as I holstered Light of the North for now. In my free hand I brought up Caerulus Mors, placing it at the dead man's wrist, I brought back the sword and swung down.

Further proof of the man's weak physical body was how easy I had cut through his wrist, lopping off his right hand, and a spurt of blood came from the new wound. Standing up, I threw the necromancer's hand into my inventory, so that I could prove to Rhea that I had indeed killed the 'dangerous' man. Fortunately, with his death came the end of the undead horde, becoming nothing more than empty shells of their former selves laid across the ground in undignified heaps and with the end of the swarm my attention was brought towards the Furoreans standing in the middle of the former-horde.

However, there were casualties among the Furorean platoon, as there were several bodies clad in the uniforms of Furore's military force unmoving on the ground, an unfortunate tragedy but it'd be worse had I not interfered sooner, if not then there'd be no survivors at all. One of said Furorean soldiers moved forward, spotting me, an expression of gratitude present on his face, no doubt for assisting in the battle against Velyn Kurst.

"I thank you for your assistance, traveler." He spoke, nodding at me in thanks. "Had you and your compatriots not come for us, we would have inevitably perished."

How nice of him to thank me. "No problem, I was hunting down this bastard for awhile now." I kicked Velyn's body to indicate said bastard. "I was just fortunate enough to come upon you guys in mid-battle."

"Nevertheless traveler, you have my thanks, your actions have saved many innocent lives." He persisted. "You and your soldiers' skills would be very... useful in our war."

I blinked in surprise at that, this was an opportunity to possibly introduce myself into the war, but I'd have to put my introduction on hold. Rosalina still needs to recover from her traumatic experience, as Katianna has said before, her mental barriers will not last forever. I'd enter the war with Hal, the Recon Marines, and the A3M, once all of them - including myself - were fully prepared to engage a numerically superior force, perhaps under the guise as a mercenary group or introducing ourselves to a Furorean lord, possibly the king himself to pledge our service to them.

"My skills in the war between you - Furore - and the Perrosians?" I asked him, and he looked at me as if I was stupid. "I won't join your war, not yet."

He frowned at that, "Everyday, my people are killed by those heathens, I am well aware that we are losing this war - albeit slowly." He spat angrily. "We are in desperate need of more fighters, be they of our own people or _mercenaries_." He said the word with spite, "The king's coffers have been emptying, ridding himself of the kingdom's wealth to help us, his people, survive this gods damned war."

I winced at that, "I didn't realize that the situation was so dire." While I was aware that Furore was losing the war, I had not anticipated that the war was going on as... bad as the soldier had said. "But, I still cannot join your war, not yet, I'm sorry."

"I..." He sighed, "Very well, I at the very least will know, that you will be joining eventually." He turned around, joining up with his comrades - the latter of whom were assisting the local townspeople.

Seeing that the civilians were being well-taken care of, I saw no reason to stay any longer and I made to leave. As I turned around, I came face to face with the two A3M squads, where I had noticed that three of them had various injuries on their person. One of them had severe burns across their arm if the reddened skin , the skin-tight fiber beneath the - frayed - armor plates was in tatters but other than that, she looked fine. Another A3M had a slight limp, and the armor plates located on his waist were slightly singed, thus I came to the conclusion that his injuries were simply artificial. However, the last A3M's injuries seemed the most grievous, the armor plates focused around the center had a vertical line cut into them, and the limp marine's fellows held him up by his shoulders.

" _Sir, mission complete, we've three injured with one being critically wounded. He requires immediate medical attention aboard the Venerable Crusader, if not, he will most surely die._ " Maria reported, her Locust slung over her shoulder.

This... was unexpected, although considering the threat of the quest I should've expected casualties on my side, but I suppose I was fortunate enough to have no one die in the battle. However, I did not expect to introduce the _Venerable Crusader_ to the world of Terros so soon, but damn my own selfish reasons, I had to help the A3M that I was responsible for bringing onto the world.

 **[Lancer-Class Frigate Options:**

 **1\. View Interior [Y/N]  
**

 **2\. Retrieve Personnel [Y/N]**

 **3\. Retrieve Armament [Y/N]]**

 **[Warship State: INACTIVE]**

 **[Activate - [Y/N]]**

After a moment's hesitation, I pressed down on **[Y]** to **[** **Activate]** the ship.

...

Where the sun once shone down on us, it was suddenly gone as a shadow enveloped the entire area and likely more. Looking up, I saw the belly of the Lancer-Class Frigate hovering overhead, and the shouts of panic that followed were likely from the Furoreans, no doubt panicking from a sight that the people of Terros will never see for centuries if not millennia if they continue in their current state. I saw various weapons systems on the belly of the ship that had suddenly whirred to life, likely the CIWS activating and responding to its suddenly new surroundings.

Several minutes later of waiting, the thought came to me that I had no way of communicating with the ship to tell them of our location, coincidentally, just as the thought came to me what was likely a transport ship came from the side of the _Venerable Crusader_. Hopefully, said ship would be coming down to evacuate us from the area, considering the fact that every second wasted is the critically wounded A3M becoming closer and closer to death.

" _Sir, communications ping coming in from Captain Vitae, he's spotted us and sent for a Valkyrie gunship to transport us to the Venerable Crusader._ " Maria spoke up, holding up a hand to the side of her head. " _ETA one minute._ "

I breathed out a sigh of relief at that, least I don't have to worry about that problem, but it was still a pressing matter that one of the A3M was on Death's Door and a medevac was required. It was fortunate that this 'Valkyrie' gunship was quite fast, as it touched down in front of us within the span of a minute, a ramp lowered from the back of the gunship revealing a figure clad in what I can assume is flight clothing.

The Valkyrie seemed like a VTOL design, with two wings - four, considering the smaller wings at the rear/tail - that had shown that each had three thrusters underside them to slow the descent of the gunship, as well as two on both sides of the main body to rotate the aircraft. Its armaments on the other hand was a nose-mounted chain gun, and two missiles mounted under each wing of the vehicle were seen, it was highly likely that there were was more weaponry on the transport - possibly mounted on a side door or the ramp similar to a Chinook.

The flight crewman spotted the state of one of the A3M and quickly hurried us inside, where there was two rows of seats and the catatonic A3M was laid upon three of said seats. I was too consumed by my own thoughts to listen to the voices of the forces under me as they spoke to one another in rushed tones, and I felt the gentle rock of the aircraft, signaling that it had lifted off.

Having summoned forth the Lancer-Class Frigate would most likely have caused a scare among hundreds if not thousands of the local populace at the sight of the metal behemoth, and it could not be blown off as a mere illusion or rumor if so many had seen it. Such a view would eventually catch the attention of local lords and quite possibly the king himself, not to mention the god - or goddess in this case - that likely felt such a sudden presence in their domain.

However, having the _Venerable Crusader_ not only in this world, but the universe surrounding it, would bring so many benefits such as the resources that would be both on-planet and off-planet to mine what-with the single mining vessel onboard the Lancer-Class Frigate. I could create new ships, weapons, and armor to equip myself and my growing forces or I could possibly dedicate the extraction and refining of natural materials to be sold on the marketplace in the Hub, both endeavors are extremely beneficial yet long-term. I nearly-salivated at the thought of thousands of A3M squads or their equivalent under my command, it'd make taking over Terros much more easier when fighting _humans_ , but the other races, especially that of the gods? Technology and magic would not do well together, but I doubt that an A3M would survive a strike from a god, and three out of ten A3M getting injured when fighting a single A+ Rank necromancer - indirectly - was the results, then I shiver of the S-Class.

Channeling funds from the marketplace on the other hand was slightly shorter than the more military build-up path, as all I needed to do was extract and refine the materials and then sell it on the marketplace, compared to extracting, mining, and then the creation of armaments. The marketplace path would allow me to directly purchase more ships and soldiers from various stalls instead of creating them through the _Venerable Crusader_.

I could no longer ponder on these thoughts any further as the Valkyrie shook, and a clang followed, we were now inside the _Venerable Crusader_ , no doubt.

Looking up, I saw the comatose A3M being carried out the aircraft by medical personnel, evident by the red crosses on their shoulders and medical cases slung over their shoulders as they placed him on a gurney and sped off towards whatever part of the ship that held the medbay.

Turning towards my A3M contingent I spoke, "You're all dismissed, thank you for your assistance."

" _Of course sir, it was our pleasure._ " Maria said, I was considering that she was the de-facto representative for the A3M aboard the _Venerable Crusader_ as she spoke up for all of them, perhaps being the highest ranking one among them was also the reason.

She saluted briefly along with her comrades, before marching down the ramp of the Valkyrie, and I soon followed as I had to find Captain Vitae. Getting into orbit of the planet was now a priority, and every second wasted is another good look from the locals directed at the _Venerable Crusader_.

As soon as I first stepped on the metal floors of the Lancer-Class Frigate, a flood of information invaded my mind but did not cause any mental damage thanks to Gamer's Mind due to the sudden influx, but I was now aware of the entirety of the ship. Knowledge of every single hallway, path, and room was now embedded within my psyche, and I was curious as to why this had not happened in my first visit to the _Venerable Crusader_. Nonetheless, I made a beeline straight for the bridge where Captain Vitae would most likely be considering the current circumstances concerning the frigate, striding forth as if though I had been on a Lancer-Class Frigate for years.

Ignoring salutes and various other forms of acknowledgement from the crew, I did however, notice that I had passed by the armory - an area of the ship that I'll have to visit later on. Eventually though, I was striding down the hallway leading to the bridge, one lengthy narrow corridor that would be excellent as a choke point to repel any boarders as I spotted a pair of the ship's onboard security personnel standing ramrod straight on the sides of a large steel door.

They saluted the moment I was in their sights, but I paid them no heed as the bridge's steel door slid open, revealing a very busy bridge crew rushing to and fro between stations and one Captain Vitae shouting orders to his subordinates.

"Captain Vitae," I spoke, catching the aforementioned man's attention mid-shout. "I need you to get us into orbit, now, we're exposed out here."

He blinked at that but complied nonetheless, "Helmsman! Get us into orbit immediately!"

"Aye aye sir, leaving the planet's atmosphere now." Said helmsman responded, redirecting the _Venerable Crusader's_ position to a new one.

I felt the slightest shift of the frigate underneath my feet, it certainly wasn't enough to force any kind of movement upon me but it did manage to warrant my attention, and it was an interesting sensation to say the least. Traveling on a spaceship was something that I'd never image doing in my lifetime as humanity's technological prowess at the time was only far enough to establish a small but barely functioning colony on Mars - but a colony nonetheless - with gargantuan amounts of funding.

The sight of the stars, space, and the overhead view of Terros was absolutely breathtaking as the frigate broke orbit, all of them were a sight that I will never forget. With that done, no doubt there were many locals in Furore spouting about a 'giant metal behemoth' in the sky, hopefully it would be blown off as a rumor and nothing more but I certainly knew better than that.

"Captain, can you give me a preliminary scan of the system? Preferably, I'd like a report on any minerals." I said to the man, and he nodded.

"That will take some time, sir." He replied hesitantly, "While we do have FTL capabilities, scanning everything within this system will require several days of travel as well, if we want to be thorough with our scans."

I hummed at that, "Do you have any sort of schematics or blueprints of some sort?" It'd be best to know what can be built at the moment, if anything at all.

He perked up at that, "Now, that's an interesting topic, when we were assigned to you we had most - if not all - of the schematics relating to the Terran Federation attached to our databanks. From the most simple pieces of infrastructure to the largest of space stations or warships. All we need is the resources to create such things, thus for the reason of the mining vessel aboard this ship."

...Well, I suppose I'm quite lucky to have such assets at my disposal so far.

"Captain Vitae, tell me, what rank am I to be considered in your eyes?" I asked him, curious to know as I've been referred to as 'sir' by the entirety of the force under me.

"You are to be considered an O-11, Fleet Admiral - salary not included. The highest authority there is to us, other than the leaders of the Terran government of course."

"That's interesting." I muttered to myself, intriguing but it was no doubt a title. "Anyhow, I'll need transport back to the surface, I'd prefer a Valkyrie to take me."

"Of course sir, I'll have hangar control prepare for your departure." He nodded to me, turning towards a crewman. "Inform the hangar bay to prep a Valkyrie for transport back to the surface."

Without waiting for Vitae, I spun around and made to leave, seeing as I got what I had needed from the Lancer-Class Frigate so far in terms of knowledge. I'll have to split down between both paths when the initial reports of minerals come in from the scans, selling and using the minerals will have to do. Nonetheless, everything will take time as it always will, a luxury that I will not always have with my seemingly 'eternal youth' what-with my age being 'locked' since my resurrection.

That also brings up another concerning matter, if I'm supposedly 'immortal' then what will happen to Rosalina? She does not have the same ability as I do and I dread to think of her dying of old age whilst I remain as youthful as ever. Then again... the marketplace could always have something to solve that problem, immortality in a bottle is a funny thought but not an impossible one, as I do not doubt that at least one Gamer has had contained the powers of immortality in a bottle and put it up on the market.

Being too consumed in my own thoughts, I never noticed that I had reached the hangar already, my subconscious guiding me through the ship without any collisions with any of the walls or the ship's crew. I suppose that is a benefit of knowing the full layout of the _Venerable Crusader_ , along with the abilities of the 'Gamer' - although I'm not so sure about the latter being a part of it.

"Sir, the Valkyrie is ready for transport." A naval crewman spoke to me, catching my attention. "Pilots are prepared to take you to your desired location, if you'll follow me please."

That was rather... quick, but that is a skill that's something that I'll be searching for, quality and efficiency above all else as I followed the crewman towards the aforementioned gunship with its engine running. Although I'll have to guide the pilots towards the forest near the Temple of Seraphine, being discrete is a matter of importance as I've already had enough attention directed towards the _Venerable Crusader_ after my activation of it.

Walking up the Valkyrie's ramp - my guide already departing to elsewhere on the ship - I went up to the cockpit to inform the pilots of my destination. I came in during their systems checks, flipping switches and turning dials on the panel in front of them, not too different from modern-day helicopters, but their attention was drawn to me.

"Sir?" One of them questioned, and I could almost imagine a brow being raised behind his helmet.

"It's unlikely that you'll find my destination, which is why I want you to follow my directions. Get us down to where the _Venerable Crusader_ was then fly southward, you'll most likely spot a castle-like structure and I want you to stop at a forest near it. Be as discrete as possible, we don't want anymore of the locals' attention drawn to us, or more specifically myself."

"Yes sir, we'll avoid detection as much as possible, even if it may be under the most primitive of 'radar' systems." He told me, returning to his console.

I was sure Terros did not have any sort of radar system anywhere on its surface, although there was a chance that there was a magical equivalent of it. At best, anyone within the vicinity of the Valkyrie would only hear it, not see it. At worst, the presence of such technology present on the surface would be made aware to several of the local lords and the king himself, if not the Perrosians as well in the territory.

As I returned to the rear of the Valkyrie and took my seat, I had realized that I did not look over the new item I received from completing my bounty quest, - the spoils of victory - and it appeared that it was a weapon that's a part of a set of items. Said weapon was a firearm, a sniper rifle to be precise, it looked to be the size of a Model 82A1 painted in a bright faded orange across the entire body and I took it out of my inventory for further examination.

 **[Grudge (Omega)]  
** **[Rank: A]  
** **[Grade: Epic]  
** **[Durability: 550,000/550,000]  
** **[Description: The Grudge is an improved version of Omega's 'Watcher', no longer needing to be pumped to eject used rounds but utilizes magazines instead. It fires higher caliber, faster bullets with a built-in mechanism that allows the fired round to ricochet on thin-air for up to five times before continuing its trajectory, this allows the Grudge to bypass any barrier or blockades and hit multiple targets in a single shot. The original user of this rifle was the now deceased-Omega whom used Grudge in his final battle before death, and due to the unique nature of said rifle the ammunition is infinite.]**

 **Effects:  
3,000 Physical Damage  
Infinite Ammunition (Limitless Magazines)  
Piercing Shot  
Ricochet Hit (5)  
Bipod  
Unlocks Cervical Armor Set (Omega) 1/9 **

...This weapon is utterly mind-boggling, and I paid the slight shift of the Valkyrie and lifting of the ramp no mind as I eyed the now-identified Grudge on top of my lap with something akin to amazement and wonder - a feeling I hadn't felt in quite a while since my death and resurrection. The need for ammunition for this particular firearm was not going to be a worry for me, thankfully, although I do wonder what it means by 'Limitless Magazines' but nonetheless, I'll use it quite often.

" _Sir, I believe we'll be reaching our destination shortly, reentry was a bit of a breeze._ " I blinked at the built-in overhead speaker, but disregarded that in favor of looking out the viewport to see the now-visible landscape of Furore passing by. " _Destination spotted, LZ is clear, landing in ETA ten seconds._ "

That was fast, but this removes any lingering doubt that I had about the Terran Federation's technological prowess. I looked up as one of the crew - likely a chief - walked up to me, slightly hunched over as he held onto the compartment handles above likely to keep him steady during the flight. In his free hand he offered me a small device.

"You'll need this to keep in-contact with the _Venerable Crusader_ , sir." He told me, and I made an 'ah' sound in response as I took the offered piece of equipment.

Just as I placed the device in my inventory, the Valkyrie shook slightly, indicating that it had landed and the crew chief stumbled slightly but maintained his balance and nodded at me as the gunship's ramp lowered. Standing up, I returned the nod to the man and left the aircraft with the Grudge in tow.

" _We've touched down, happy hunting sir._ "

Fortunately, they did indeed manage to land in the very same forest near the Temple of Seraphine, as I noticed said temple just beyond the tree line from my position. Hopefully they don't manage to attract any _more_ attention from the locals as they return to the _Venerable Crusader_. Nonetheless, I hefted up Grudge over my shoulder and began walking towards the Temple of Seraphine, the sniper rifle was surprisingly light but I chalked that up to the powers of the Gamer improving my strength exponentially.

Reaching the temple was easy, taking little time as I enjoyed the cool breeze of Furore's winds hitting me and the... 'natural' state of my surroundings. Such a massive difference when compared to Earth, a shame that the latter could not remain preserved, but slowly deteriorated because of mankind. Hopefully, Terros would not be the same in that aspect, the natural environment as it is right now is a sight to behold with the sun setting in the background.

Nonetheless, my close proximity to the gate had managed to catch the attention of the current temple guard on duty - fortunately it seemed that she recognized me as I was not yelled at this time to not cause any trouble - and the gate opened inwards.

Surprisingly - or unsurprisingly depending on the way you look at it - the amount of refugees seemed to have increased twofold whilst I was gone, and what the Furorean soldier had said earlier was brought to mind. If the war was going as bad as the soldier had implied it to be and the amount of refugees doubling within the span of three days in the Temple of Seraphine then it will not be long before the temple stops accepting refugees altogether. Food shortages will eventually happen, unrest among the refugees leading to eventual fighting, and people will suffer from the consequences. Entering the war will have to come very soon, perhaps in a day or two if there are no complications.

I was broken out of my thoughts as the familiar voice of Rhea Kandangelos spoke to me, "Raphael, you've returned." I turned to meet her, my own green eyes meeting her amber ones. "I presume you've killed Velyn Kurst then?" She crossed her arms, raising a brow as to question me.

"Yes I did," I told her, putting my hand behind my back to pull out Velyn's severed hand from my inventory and show it to Rhea. "I even have proof of my kill."

She blinked in surprise at the hand shown to her, "I see..." Her hand gingerly reached forward and grabbed the offered extremity. "...I'm impressed Raphael, defeating a man of high rank is an impressive feat." The Huscarl examined the hand of Velyn with a scrutinizing gaze. "It's an obvious display of your abilities and power, and power is something many women are attracted to." She shot me a look of interest, and I couldn't help but be worried about her words.

The powers of the Gamer gave me limitless potential, based on that and the levels of other people - especially that of Gamers from the top of the leaderboards - then I could quite possibly become a god with some time. I've yet to see any demonstrations of power from Gamers, well, other than that one time Sera applied an invisible pressure over me with hardly any effort, but Gamers such as Michael Nobles or Cadmus Von Steele? Perhaps I'll see a display of power from Gabriel when he greets me as Michael had said, that is if he comes personally that is, but it'd be a learning experience to see the power of the one ranked number four on the leaderboards.

"Uhm, 'attracted to'?" I questioned her, if what she's saying similar to my line of thought then... "What do you mean by that?"

"It is exactly what it means Raphael, power attracts those whom are 'weaker' than or 'similar' to them , it is a primal extinct of all - mostly women - to be exposed to raw power and an overwhelming desire to..." A light blush grew on her cheeks and she coughed, " _Uhm_ -continue their lineage, children will inherit half of their progenitor's power, thus born with halves of their mother and father's capabilities. Those with unique or rare powers are sought after even by royalty to sire children of great blood."

...

Well fuck.

It's going to be an inevitability that I will attract many of the opposite gender, if I'm to take complete control of Terros then I'll eventually have a kingdom of my own - which will attract more attention than what I would like when it comes. I shiver at the thought of the offers of _political marriages_ that will come my way in that time, but I certainly know that Rosalina will be completely fine with it - I think - in the long-run, as long she becomes my 'first wife' as she puts it then she'll accept other women.

"Nevertheless," Rhea continued, changing the topic. "I applaud you on your successful bounty. You've certainly earned your keep here, just as your companions had done as well."

While I didn't like the idea of having them do any arduous tasks similar to mine - especially Rosalina - I can only assume that they did lesser tasks, I certainly know that Rosalina was only doing simple shores in the temple, but I did not know what Hal or the Recon Marines were assigned. Nonetheless, I shouldn't worry too much as Rhea had said they finished their respective tasks, and that is all that matters in the end.

"If you are wondering about their whereabouts, they are resting - barring Miss Surrexerunt - at your camp." She spoke up, most likely seeing me display my concern for my people unintentionally. "Your lover on the other hand, she should be somewhere on temple grounds last I seen her."

I blinked at that, but nodded to her in gratitude. "Thank you for telling me, I suppose that is it then Huscarl?"

"I have nothing more for you, yes." She stopped examining Velyn's hand to have her eyes directly meet mine. "And please, refer to me as Rhea."

"Okay then..." It was a bit uncomfortable to already be on a first-name basis with her already. "Thank you Rhea."

The Huscarl hummed a response as she turned around, starting to walk off towards the building that held Katianna's room, no doubt going reporting my recent success in killing the once-known necromancer Velyn Kurst. With that done, I began my search for Rosalina, it was likely that she was anxiously waiting for me and had not heard of my return just yet.

In my stride, I noticed that the refugees seemed gaunt - more so than the last time I had seen them - and with various states of injuries. However, it was a relief to see some of the temple guard providing medical assistance, however it appeared that they only tended to those that were in the most critical of conditions and completely ignored those with minor injuries or illnesses. That could mean many things, but it would point to the Temple of Seraphine having a very low amount of medical remedies and supplies in their stores. Such a situation would eventually lead to many of the refugees having diseases or some form of illness, which would also eventually lead to it spreading, a plague situation if you will.

Ignoring that for the time being, I continued my search for Rosalina, luckily I did not have to search any further as I found her on her knees tending to one of the many gardens on the temple grounds among other refugees that were no doubt also doing service to earn their keep. However, instead of speaking to catch her attention, I smirked deviously as I snuck up behind her - catching the attention of a few of the other temporary-gardeners.

Tiptoeing my way over to her as sneakily as possible with a full vest of kevlar and a massive rifle that was three-fourths my height slung over my back, she should've already heard my coming considering I was but a few feet away from her but she did not - I'll have to rectify that during our training sessions.

As my shadow eventually loomed over her, she noticed and turned around, prompting me to spring into action.

"Boo!" I shouted, and I received a startled yelp in response, to which I chuckled at.

Rosalina was breathing raggedly as she faced me with wide eyes. "R-Raphael...?" She asked confusedly, before narrowing her gaze and glaring at me. "How mean of you."

"Happy to see me Rosa?" I spread my arms, as if to gesture to myself, and inadvertently ask for a hug.

She dropped her glare, sighing, before smiling - albeit tiredly - at me. "...I'm glad you came back safely Raphael." She stood up, dusting off her breeches from any residue of dirt, then she launched herself at me, meeting in an embrace.

" _Mmm~_ " She sighed contentedly, nuzzling into my chest, it appeared that she missed me - even if it was only three or so days since my departure.

"I trust that you didn't have to do anything dangerous?" I asked her, curious to know if she was assigned anything relating to fighting or battle.

She pulled her head away from my torso, looking up at me quite... adorably. "No~ I only did simple tasks in the temple, such as I am doing right now."

That was a relief, it would have been quite concerning to have her face any threats, be they numerous or skilled, I would have forbidden her from doing any battle at her current level of training. Having only did one day of firearms, melee, and hand to hand combat is most definitely not enough to face more than one bandit. Nonetheless, I embraced Rosalina harder than before, which she returned with the same amount of force with incredible ease.

Several seconds later, I detached myself from Rosalina, much to her disappointment. "You still need to do your chores, right?"

She shook her head, "I was merely doing it to help the other refugees, and to pass the time." Huh, should've expected that considering that Rosalina is far kinder than I make her out to be. "Now that you have returned, I don't need to continue further, and I am sure the others can continue without me."

"I see..." I trailed off, looking around the small garden, spotting a few of the refugees watering the plants/flowers or pulling out weeds. "Then let's head back to our small camp then?"

She nodded cheerily, her right hand reaching forward and clasping onto my left, and she began walking towards the mass of small tents and makeshift beds - dragging me along unintentionally in the unexpected move. While I didn't exactly like being dragged like a child being dragged by their mother, I couldn't exactly voice my complaints either, either due to fear or no right words to say - I do not know, which is a bit surprising but 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' is the most viable reason. Rosalina's beauty was still ever-present even with the smudges of dirt on her person from working, but that could easily change, I shiver at the image of a furious Rosalina.

Eventually though, she had stopped her fast-paced walk towards our small sleeping area - which the location was lost to me in the ever-growing mass of refugees. As expected, Hal and the two Recon Marines were there as well, standing vigil - likely to protect our things from being stolen - in a triangle-like formation around what little of the area we possessed for the time being.

They paid us no mind as we passed by them, where Rosalina sat down on her own medieval equivalent of a sleeping bag, which I noted was just a mixture of cloths and furs likely harvested from various animals that were hunted down, the details were something that I did not notice before. I also had a similar one, and where the world of Terros lacked the abilities to mass produce everything as the same product, my own bedroll was clearly made and designed differently as it appeared that its fur was white in contrast to Rosalina's brown. Nonetheless, I disregarded those random thoughts that were sidetracking me, and I sat down across from her.

"I've noticed you have a new... firearm, I believe it is called?" She noted, eyeing Grudge over my shoulder, and I nodded.

"Indeed it is, this'll also be a good time to teach you about the other types of firearms." Pulling Grudge over onto my lap, I ran a hand over it, marveling at the intricate designs of the advanced weapon. "This is a sniper rifle, a weapon used for long-ranged shooting that's far more accurate than any small arms."

"Ooh." She gasped, looking at Grudge in awe. "Can I...?"

"Of course, be careful with it though." I told her, carefully handing over Grudge to her.

Rosalina picked up the sniper rifle with little difficulty on her part, running her hand across the barrel and the body. There was no safety mechanism on the rifle, last I checked during my examination, but fortunately she had not put her finger on the trigger. Another thing to remind myself of, make sure that she learned trigger discipline, friendly fire is something I would rather not want to experience - especially from my own lover(?).

Eventually, she had hefted and handed back over Grudge to me, to which I slung over my shoulder once more, but quickly amended that and placed it into my inventory as I do not wish to keep hold of it forever.

With nothing else to say, I might as well bring up the topic to her. "Rosa, we'll have to leave the safety of the temple." I spoke carefully, gauging her reaction. "We cannot stay behind these walls forever, Furore is falling before Perros and it will not be long before they are wiped out all-together."

"B-But, we won't be harmed though!" She protested. "Perros would never dare attack this holy place!"

"Yes, but eventually the temple will deplete all of their reserves of food and medical supplies." I reasoned, convincing her to stay at my side is for the best, as my companions and I are the only ones capable of protecting Rosalina to the fullest, not that I am doubting the skill of the temple guard, merely that I prefer to keep close to her. "You could stay here, and I could leave Hal and the others to stay here with you whilst I enter the war on my lonesome."

I wouldn't exactly be entering the war alone, per se, I still had the A3M and the capabilities of the _Venerable Crusader_ on standby in orbit - after they finished their scan of the system of course. Although if Rosalina did choose to stay at the temple, I would know that she would still be far away from the war but I would be somewhat weakened in terms of combined firepower - and manpower - for the war without Hal and the Recon Marines. However, I couldn't shake this feeling of dread welling up inside me, something terrible was going to happen and while I did not know what it exactly was, I know that I will be coming soon. _Very_ soon..

"Raphael..." She pouted at me, "At least consider staying for one more day? Before we leave?"

Breathing an internal sigh of relief, I spoke to her. "I don't see any problem with that." With that out of the way, I need not worry any further about Rosalina.

"Wonderful!" She clapped her hands together.

"With that done, let's talk about something else, shall we?" I was actually curious to know of Rosalina's background and she was no doubt curious of mine as well.

"...What should we speak about?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

I shrugged at her, "Perhaps our lives? We don't know that much about each other after all."

"Oh!" She perked up at that, slamming her fist into an open palm. "You're right!"

I chuckled, "Right, how about we go at it like this? You ask a question, then I ask one, and so on and so forth - you first."

"That's a splendid idea! Hum, where did you come from truly?" She questioned, and I blinked at said question. "You say you are not of this world, nor do you seem to be sent by the divines as you've explained as well, so I am curious of your homeland." Now that's a fairly good question straightaway.

"Well..." I trailed off, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell her of Earth, considering she is one of my soulmates. "I'm from Earth, a place that's far better off than Terros, in terms of daily life that is - not so sure about war though. However, the nation I was from was called the 'United States of America', arguably the most well-off country in the world, and I was a part of SWAT." At her questioning look, I elaborated. "SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics, a part of the police that protected and served the people, upholding the law. But SWAT in particular was deployed to minimize the casualties of police personnel in risky situations. Overall though, Earth - even with its flaws - is most likely a utopia compared to Terros, a world at constant war."

"By Seraphine..." She muttered, disbelieving at my answer. "Such a world sounds... like mere make-believe, but I do not doubt your words Raphael, your world is most definitely interesting..."

"Now, it's time for my question, correct?" I raised a brow at her, and she nodded, prompting me to continue. "You seem to have lived alone at Kyros, do you have no family or relatives?"

She winced, and it seemed that I was breaching into sensitive territory already, I frowned at that. "You do not have to answer if you don't want to Rosa."

"N-No, it's fine Raphael," She waved off my concerns. "I-I'm the last one of my bloodline as far as I am aware, the one you saw that I was burying at Kyros was my only relative remaining aside from my father since the war had begun... She was my cousin... S-She resisted the bandits in the attack, and was killed for such actions," She shook her head sadly. "I couldn't do anything to save her... My mother had passed away, giving birth to me, and my father was conscripted into the war. N-News came back soon, that he and his battalion were slaughtered in the first battles of the war..." She stopped speaking, and it seemed she had trouble continuing.

"It's okay if you don't wish to continue Rosa, I understand." I held up a hand in a gesture to stop her from speaking any further of the topic. "It's your turn to ask your question now."

"A-Alright," She murmured. "Do you worship any particular god or goddess Raphael? You don't seem to pray to Seraphine..."

I thought about that for a moment, while I wasn't exactly the religious type before I died, Gaia resurrected me and granted the powers that I have now - something that I had thought was once mere fiction. Suppose I worship Gaia then, considering I owe my life to her, and she's the reason that I'm in front of Rosalina right now, having this conversation.

"I worship the goddess, Gaia." I told her, and at her raised eyebrow, I explained further. "She's the very reason I'm here right now, on Terros and speaking to you Rosa, she granted me the powers that I now have at my disposal. For that, I am eternally grateful to her, even if I have yet to hear - let alone see - the goddess herself."

"Your goddess sounds... intriguing." She hummed, sounding to have no opinion on Gaia. "I believe it is your turn to question me now?"

"No, the time for questioning is over, night approaches." Night was indeed approaching, several hours had passed in total since I had killed Velyn. "Be ready to set off for the capital tomorrow Rosa, you'll need to keep your strength up."

She pouted at that, "Aw, but I wanted to know more about you~"

"Perhaps another time Rosa," There was still much more to be learned about one another after all, but I left that part unsaid. "For now, get some rest, if the capital is as far as I believe it is, then we have a long journey ahead of us." After a few seconds of pouting, Rosalina eventually relented and laid down on her bedroll dozing off.

Sounds of the light crackling of the surrounding torches were the most prominent around, aside from that there were the distant sounds of crickets outside the walls of the temple. There was some lingering conversations in the refugee area, but those slowly died down until only the torches and crickets remained.

I myself, eventually joined Rosalina among those sleeping, laying my back down on the bedroll. I still could not shake off this strange feeling of dread, and I swore that my danger sense skill was going off, but I dismissed it as my own paranoia due to the skill disappearing as quickly as it alerted me.

Such thoughts I could no longer ponder about as I let the darkness consume me, descending into a dreamless sleep...

* * *

 **(?)  
**

 _...Where the hell am I?_

 _The 'landscape' before me is not too different from that of the Void, where I had first met Sera after my death. Although, the 'feel' that this place had was far too foreign to be the Void, as well as the fact that I did not feel... physical. The sensation - or rather the lack thereof - of feeling non-corporeal is something that is rather hard to describe, I feel weightless, to say the least. Aside from that, the surrounding area was nothing but pure white, a frightening thing to witness as it was just miles upon miles of an endless space._

 _It's very unlikely that this is a dream, since my resurrection and the powers of the Gamer being granted to me I've never once had a dream since then. I held up my right hand, and I could very nearly see through it if I strained my eyes a bit, I suppose this is what being a ghost feels like?_

 _All of that points to-_

 _Oh goddammit, did I fucking die again?_

 _" **Greetings Raphael D'Angelo...** " I froze, erasing my previous thoughts, whomever had spoke behind me was clearly a being of power, but it did not seem like there was any malicious intent within that heavenly voice. " **Do not be afraid, I mean you no harm...** " _

_Slowly turning around, I came face to face with a... goddess. There was no denying that the - rather tall - woman before me was someone of the divine realm of Terros. It was quite obvious really, she was three times my height, standing at around eighteen feet but fortunately I did not have to crane my neck to look up at her as she laid on her side, as well as exuding a golden aura around her person. There is no doubt that I would be enthralled to her if I was without Gamer's Mind, her utterly gorgeous features also added to the fact that she was without a doubt, a goddess._

 _"Who are you...?" I asked warily, divine and beautiful she may be, but there is still the possibility that she is an enemy regardless of her words._

 _Even with the caution in my voice being heard, she smiled gently. " **Fret not, I am not your enemy,** " That calmed me a bit, but I was still cautious as I still did not know her identity. " **I am Seraphine, you have already heard of me, no?**_ _" Oh... I suppose I'm not dead then, and I used Observe on said goddess._

 **Name: Seraphine  
** **Race: Divine Entity of Terros (+100 INT, +100 WIS)  
** **Class: Goddess of Seraphinism (+200 CHR)  
Age: 3,292 **

**Level: (?-?)**

 **Title: Goddess of Furore - This title is a representation of your divinity being recognized among the locals of Furore, being the main figure to worship in the kingdom you are naturally aware of everything within said kingdom's territory. +(MAX REP to Furore), +(Worship Received)**

 _"I... D-Do I bow?" I asked hesitantly, I was actually not sure what to do in this type of situation, but I awkwardly bowed to the powerful being before me regardless_

 _She laughed as soon as I bowed, and it was music to my ears... " **You do not need to do such a thing Raphael, I do not wish for such things from those like yourself, much less my followers. No, I merely want happiness for all, a foolish ambition, I know.** " She shook her head sadly, and I couldn't help but frown at such an expression marring her features as I straightened myself up. " **With the constant warring, my dreams will never truly be fulfilled for hundreds upon hundreds of years, and I am content with the few that are truly happy in this horrible world.** " She cleared her throat, " **Never mind that, I brought you here for a reason Raphael, but first, perhaps a better environment for us to speak in. This is hardly the place to speak to one another.** "_

 _Seraphine snapped her fingers, and the 'world' around us shattered into one much more fitting of her spoken ambitions, a plain field of grass with the sun looking as if though it was setting but not moving, and I blinked in surprise as two children - likely brother and sister - ran past me, giggling. Animals frolicked about, some I'm quite aware of, some I'm not so aware of considering their odd appearances that would never be found on Earth. A light breeze much like the one I felt recently just outside the walls of the Temple of Seraphine, came at me._

 _It was... peaceful._

 _" **A sight to behold, certainly?** " Seraphine came up from behind, and it appeared she shrunk herself down to my height. " **This is what I wish for all to have Raphael, and I'm sure you would as well...** " The blonde-haired goddess' white robe fluttered around her in the wind as she folded her hands together in front of her._

 _"So... what did you want to speak about?" I asked her, watching my surroundings._

 _" **Of course, I brought you here to make you my champion...** " She said plainly, as if though she was speaking about the weather. _

_...What?_

 _"I-I'm sorry, did you just say, 'champion'?" I inquired for confirmation, the implications of becoming... her 'champion' could vary._

 _" **Yes- Oh, I'm sorry... Did I say that too suddenly?** " She laughed nervously, and I blinked at that sudden change of her behavior. " **I-I mean, yes, I wish to make you my champion.** "_

 _"...Why me in particular though? Why not one of your own followers?" I crossed my arms, raising a brow at her._

 _She shifted uneasily at that, " **I'm rather... uncomfortable with any of my own worshipers becoming my champion. I want someone who doesn't treat me with the reverence expected for a goddess such as myself.** " Ah, one of those situations. " **Yourself on the other hand, as you've said before, worship a different goddess - Gaia, I believe it was? You possess weapons that I have never seen in my years. Oh! Not to mention that flying... object that appeared earlier that seemed to be your own.** " That should come off as... no surprise, I fully expected many to see it, including a goddess I suppose. _

_"And what do those have to do with me becoming your champion?"_

 _She hummed, tapping a finger against her chin. " **Well, I am well aware that my ambitions will never come to fruition with my current circumstances. However, you can help me make them come true! What you have at your disposal is incredible Raphael, but never mind that, do you accept becoming my champion?** " _

_"Ahm..." I hesitated, "This is a bit sudden, I mean - what would happen if I were to take up the mantle of being your champion?"_

 _" **Well, you would be entitled to a great many things, many of my own worshipers would be inclined to assist you should they see you with my** **symbol.** **And that is not all, you would receive powers not too different from my own, you've seen my priestess use them but you'll be able to use it to a much larger extent.** " That seems incredibly useful, powers similar to that of Katianna's would be beneficial, healing powers especially. " **As well as telepathic communication between us, no matter the place, I would essentially be aware of everything you would be doing.** " _

_Well, my own privacy would be violated by Seraphine, but I'm sure she means no ill-intent. Other than that, the benefits outweigh the costs, as I seriously doubt that Seraphine would be able to communicate with me within the Hub or in Terros' orbit. If she does, then I suppose it's my loss for taking such a risk with the goddess._

 _"I..." She leaned forward excitedly, "Accept."_

 _" **Yes!** " She cheered, and I couldn't help but let a small laugh at the little dance she did. _

_"So, do you say an incantation or...?"_

 _" **No incantations needed, nor any words for that matter, merely stand still Raphael and do not resist.** " That does not seem ominous at all._

 _I stood still as Seraphine placed her hands on my non-corporeal shoulders, and I couldn't but help tense at the action, but I tensed further to the point of being as rigid as a statue as the goddess leaned forward. If she's doing what I think she is doing, then there would be some complications, but as this is the way to become her champion I can only assume that there will be no strings attached(?)._

 _Although, as I got a very close view of her stunning beauty, her luscious lips became all the more appealing to me. There is no doubt that many would be envious of my position as I stared into Seraphine's own half-lidded eyes, but I was unable to identify the emotions present in them. Such thoughts of mine passed within mere_ _milliseconds, and during such a short - or long time in my view - span of time I barely noticed my own attraction to the goddess. It's a high possibility that she is to be one of my 'soulmates', but considering the various women I've met on Terros that I supposedly have an 'attraction' to, it could also just a spur of the moment situation._

 _" **Ahn~** " Seraphine moaned as her lips met mine, and I couldn't help but melt into her touch and return the favor._

 _However, such a pleasant feeling came with... side-effects, and I cringed in pain as a searing hot pain burned into my chest - right above my heart if I am not mistaken. Unfortunately, I could not pull away from Seraphine to deal with the pain, fortunately it seemed that she was trying her best to suppress the pain based on the golden glow she emitted, so it was more or less a mixture of both._

 _Eventually, - much to my hidden disappointment - she pulled away, a trail of saliva bridging between our lips. Considering that she had a golden(?) blush - and as ridiculous as it seems - it is possible that she may have more than a 'friendly' attraction to me._

 **Title Received! Champion of Seraphine - This title is a representation of your service to the goddess Seraphine! Becoming the champion of a divine being brings many benefits, Seraphine in particular brings the benefits of abilities that assists others! +(Telepathy w/ Seraphine), +(MAX REP to Seraphine Worshipers), +(Minor Powers of Seraphine)**

 _"I-uh, that was interesting..." I nervously chuckled, ignoring the notification._

 _" **Mm... Yes it was, and I apologize if I caused any discomfort.** " There wasn't any 'discomfort' per se, but I was quite fortunate to not have Rosalina hear or witness the recent situation between us. " **You should have my mark now, I believe somewhere on your chest?** "  
_

 _I nodded, "I do, I think." After a moment of fumbling with unequipping the shirt that I've been wearing for quite awhile, I could fully examine my new 'tattoo'. "...I have to say, nice symbol."_

 _Seraphine's symbol was that of - unsurprisingly enough - a dove, the representation of peace, being wrapped around by vines as it appeared her mark glowed - actually glowed! I was correct in its location, right above my heart on my left breast, but all in all, I suppose it's the symbol that I would expect from Seraphine._

 _" **Oh my...** " I turned my attention back to Seraphine as she spoke, " **I have to say, my personal symbol on your person is quite eye-catching.** "_

 _I wasn't sure if she was ogling me, or stating a simple fact, but nevertheless, I highly doubt many would see Seraphine's symbol on me due to my common apparel that I wear nowadays. However, I did notice I did not receive any notifications about the new skills from becoming her champion._

 _" **If you are wondering about my own powers transferring to you, it will come in time, taking in my power will take a toll upon your mental psyche.** " She hummed interestedly. " **Normally, you'd be experiencing a headache by now, but it appears you aren't affected, that is if you even have such a minor symptom.** " Possibly Gamer's Mind._

 _"I do have a rather strong mental barrier." It was no lie, Gamer's Mind was technically a barrier against all negative mental effects. "I'm hardly affected by mind control or anything of the sort, let alone a mere headache." That did sound a bit arrogant of me, but Gamer's Mind justifies it with its powerful effects._

 _" **Hmm...** " She tilted her head at me. " **This could possibly decrease the time needed for my powers to fully embed itself into you, or increase it if your mind operates the way I assume it will operate as it will attempt to block it out.** " ...Gamer's Mind may have fucked me over in this situation, I am sorely regretting my mental thoughts now, but it is a fifty-fifty chance as Seraphine had said._

 _" **Nevertheless, I am quite happy that you are now my champion.** " She clasped her hands together happily. " **I will check in with you at random intervals to see if your powers have begun fully functioning. Perhaps I can have some training be done whilst we are here, as I know you will sorely need these powers of mine if you wish to interfere in the war as I believe you to be doing soon.** "_

 _"Training for what, exactly?" I asked her, raising a brow. "As you've said, my newly-gained powers have yet to come."_

 _" **Most of them, yes, but communication through thought was an instantaneous gain for you once you became my champion. You may have the ability to do so with me now, but you are inexperienced in the effort to do so. Which is wh-** " She stopped mid-speech, and her eyes widened in shock and fear - not for herself, but for others it seemed. _

_Before I could question what had happened, a clearly inhuman screech tore through my ears, affecting not only Seraphine and myself, but the generated landscape around us as cracks appeared in 'mid-air' to indicate so._

 _R̓A̗͐̌̊̓̏A̾Aͥ͆̒̌ͭ̈A͖̫̩̮̪̗̖̓̄̏͗͛ͦ̈́Ȁ̞̞̞̺̜̹̽͂͆ͧ͒̂A̱͙͓̬͈̫̯ͥͣA͈͍̪̝̦A̗̬̜ͤ͊̏̈́̍ͧͅA̦͇̞̱͐͂͋G̱̜̪̯͎̈͑H̦͕̬̖̺̼̭̚!̲̓̂_

* * *

 **AN: Again! I'm late with another goddamned chapter! I must be sorely disappointing you guys right now with my inconsistency with my so-called 'bi-weekly' updates. My only excuse is that I have a whole lot of 'fun' stuff to do for summer break, such as the paint balling and archery I'm about to do tomorrow! Nevertheless, I thank you - my readers - for your wonderful reviews that have been motivational for me.**

 **Know this, never assume that I will abandon this story because I have not updated for awhile, YOU will know when I put this story on hiatus through a notification, I would sorely hate to do such a thing to you guys in the first place.**

 **With my part said, I bid you adieu!**

 **P.S. (I think this chapter was a bit sloppy, what'dya think?)**


	7. Arc 1: Hostile Contact!

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Unknown Realm)  
(Raphael's POV)**

 _I cringed at the ear-piecing scream, to such an extent that the scream actually affected the constructs that Seraphine created herself, although I doubt that the resilience of the artificial creations were at their full strength as I have reason to believe that this is my own mind that we're in. If not, then Seraphine's constructs were incredibly... weak, yet she was around five hundred levels above me so that thought was also in doubt._

 _Nevertheless, I focused back on Seraphine and my own's current predicament as there was another scream, and the former shot me a quick look of panic._

 _R̓A̗͐̌̊̓̏A̾Aͥ͆̒̌ͭ̈A͖̫̩̮̪̗̖̓̄̏͗͛ͦ̈́Ȁ̞̞̞̺̜̹̽͂͆ͧ͒̂A̱͙͓̬͈̫̯ͥͣA͈͍̪̝̦A̗̬̜ͤ͊̏̈́̍ͧͅA̦͇̞̱͐͂͋G̱̜̪̯͎̈͑H̦͕̬̖̺̼̭̚!̲̓̂_

͈̖̺̝͎̮̓̂ͨͯͅ _" **Raphael! Quickly, you must wake up! The temple is soon to be under attack!** " She spoke rapidly, and at her words, my own eyes widened in panic as well._

 _"How-" I was interrupted by the sudden warping of my vision, twisting and churning._

* * *

 **(Terros - Continent of Janus - Kingdom of Furore - Temple of Seraphine)**

"- _aphael... Wake up, you're shaking._ " Rosalina's groggy voice was the first thing I heard waking up, not saying that it wasn't pleasant, merely... surprising, considering that I was expecting her to sleep far longer than me.

"Rosa, get your things ready, we have to leave immediately." I shot up, it was the middle of the night, and she would no doubt protest at my sudden order to leave the temple. I cut her off before she could speak. "There's no time to explain, someone - or _something_ \- is coming, and it is most definitely not friendly." Rosalina was wide awake now, and she did as I asked with no complaints, saving much time on my part.

Equipping the kevlar that I was oh-so familiar with that it became more of a comfort than a safety precaution, I narrowed my gaze for anything that would indicate an impending attack. Anything, from a slight change in the temple guards' behavior to a sudden unnerving silence.

...

Neither was present as I saw few of the latter patrolling - albeit less than the amount of when I had fallen asleep - the edge of the refugee site, ever vigilant in their duties. The former was swept off the table as I still heard the occasional cricket in the night. Perhaps Seraphine was wrong and it was nothing more than a simple ruse, but it did not seem she would be the type to raise a false flag on such a situation, so I rose from my bedroll nonetheless - drawing Grudge from my inventory. I left Rosalina to gather what she needed, as well as leaving the care of her wellbeing to my three companions.

Whatever Seraphine had said was coming would have to come through the temple's gate, and the temple was in the middle of an open field, hardly any cover for one to sneak or charge into the place without sustaining damage from ranged attacks first so placing myself atop the walls would be the most ideal position right now - even if it may be night.

Of course, with my sudden movement, I drew the attention of those standing guard but they made no indication of stopping me - if anything, they seemed curious of what I was doing. Regardless, I trudged forward, carefully walking past or over sleeping refugees, intent on being ready for the unknown threat. Yet, I cannot prepare for the unknown, merely wait for what is to come and minimize the inevitable casualties if the power of the incoming foe is to be as intense as I believe it to be.

After carefully treading my way over and around the prone forms of refugees, I was before the door that I assume led to the battlements, being illuminated by a pair of torches that hung next to it. Still, I noticed, the temple guards followed my every movement made no movement of their own to stop me. Nonetheless, I continued and pulled open the door, allowing me to see the stairs leading up onto the wall - after all, where else could they possibly lead to?

While I was by no means claustrophobic, the small amount of room provided was a bit concerning - just enough to not get singed by the torches that lit up the path, but should there be any attack that could possibly damage and shake the walls, then being trapped under debris is a very high possibility. Discarding those thoughts as I reached the top of the stairs - Terros' moon lighting it up - I hefted up Grudge in preparation for whatever was out _there_.

The battlements were what was expected of a castle, embrasures and merlons placed on one side of the wall facing the outside of the temple, and unfortunately, torchlight ruined my night vision. The temple guard posted to watch the gate came forth to meet me, taking off her helmet, a curious expression on her face.

"Raphael D'Angelo, was it?" She asked wearily, placing a hand on her hip. "What brings you here at this time of night?"

I hummed, there was no reason to be dishonest with the temple guard, considering they serve Seraphine - and in turn, me to a lesser extent, if what the goddess said was true. "Seraphine had warned me of a threat that is soon to be upon the temple." Whatever semblance of exhaustion on the guard vanished immediately as she stood rigid, alarmed.

"Lady Seraphine warned you herself?" She spoke, hushed, as she turned her gaze towards the darkness that is the outside of the temple. "If so... then we are in grave danger, should you be speaking the truth."

I would be offended if it were not for the fact that the temple guard had a right to be skeptical of my claims, considering I'm only a mere stranger here - no better than the masses in the courtyard. Had I been a temple guard as well I would doubt the person that would be in my position, nevertheless, I decided to bring out the only piece of evidence to back up my claims.

Unequipping - while it is a hassle, it's far easier than doing it by hand - the protective fiber, the temple guard reeled back in surprise at the sudden disappearance of the article of clothing, leaving me only in the simple black tee-shirt that I was resurrected with.

"What... are you doing?" She questioned, tilting her head.

Giving no reply, I simply lifted up my shirt - much to her embarrassment but that quickly vanished as soon as it appeared - showing her Seraphine's symbol, while it seems it has lost most of its glow from my corporeal form it still had a faint illumination that comes and goes. Regardless, the temple guard was shocked at the sight of Seraphine's symbol on my chest if the widening of her eyes were any indication.

"I-I...What-?" She appeared too shocked to properly formulate a response, certainly not the reaction I expected but a faster response to the threat will-

 **R̓A̗͐̌̊̓̏A̾Aͥ͆̒̌ͭ̈A͖̫̩̮̪̗̖̓̄̏͗͛ͦ̈́Ȁ̞̞̞̺̜̹̽͂͆ͧ͒̂A̱͙͓̬͈̫̯ͥͣA͈͍̪̝̦A̗̬̜ͤ͊̏̈́̍ͧͅA̦͇̞̱͐͂͋G̱̜̪̯͎̈͑H̦͕̬̖̺̼̭̚!̲̓̂**

Shit.

"What was that?!"

The temple guard quickly spun towards where the roar came from, pulling on her helmet in the process. Whilst she did so, she completely disregarded me in favor of walking towards her station, taking hold of a javelin. Seeing that there was no need for me to keep myself exposed, I re-equipped my kevlar, and I took my position behind one of the embrasures - setting up Grudge on the parapet.

Along with the temple guard that I spoke with earlier, I heard several quickened metallic steps behind me, indicating that the entire temple had likely heard the roar as well. Whatever was out there was certainly... _dangerous_ , if not far more a threat than Velyn was, merely a feeling that I'm having similar to the battle with the undead that had attacked me. I tensed as I heard thumping, albeit a bit faint, but it slowly became louder.

The fact that I could hardly see a few feet outside the temple did not help either, the _thing_ that is out there is influencing the natural surroundings, as it unnaturally became incredibly cloudy - blocking out the moon, leaving only the lit torches to be our source of light.

͈̖̺̝͎̮̓̂ͨ **[R.A.S. Situation Activated!]  
[Description: The R.A.S. (Random Appearance System) is an integral part of the lives of Gamers, developed by Gaia to always keep her chosen on their toes and be wary of anything and everything. Situations will appear at random intervals, from tiny occurrences of singular threats or random appearances of treasures to massive galaxy-threatening foes or treasure troves of technology and weaponry. It is to be noted that complacency is the downfall of the work of Gamers, never forget, thus no reward shall be given until the situation is dealt with - be it EXP or currency.]**

 **[R.A.S. Tier: 1/10]  
[Type: Hostile]  
[Level: ?]  
[Description: The enemy has the ability and power to threaten hundreds of innocents if ignored, warriors would be hard-pressed to defeat this entity should they engage it in physical combat. While this foe is recognized as the _weakest_ of the tiers a Gamer should encounter, those below _at least_ (Level: 100) must exercise caution when engaging this foe as it is highly likely you will suffer severe injuries, if not  death. At your current level it is highly recommended that you flee or hide.]**

...Well, shit.

While I can understand the concept of the R.A.S. it would unnecessarily endanger the lives of those around Gamers - myself included - when the system would activate. Giving a quick glance at the temple guard peering out into the darkness with her javelin raised, I could not help but feel guilty that I was responsible for the risk on her life and our current predicament - as well as the endangerment of the scores if not hundreds of lives within these walls. Although, I consider it fortunate that Seraph-

"... **LiTtLe mOrTaLs cOmE oUt tO pLaY** **~!** "

That voice... It's so utterly chilling, there was no doubt about it, whatever was out there is definitely not human - and its words implied that it wasn't mortal.

Ignoring the increasing amount of temple guards joining me up on the battlements, I strained my eyes to see any slight distortion in the darkness to indicate the being that was coming this way. If the description of it was anything to go by then it would be best for me to avoid the battle altogether if I am to preserve my own life. Then again, that option is unacceptable, leaving the guards to fight it on their own would be morally wrong and I have an obligation to fight alongside them now that I am Seraphine's champion.

"W-Where in the Goddess' name did that voice come from?!" Well, the panicked voice of a temple guard was certainly dismaying, but I chalked it up to the fear of the unknown - it is a reasonable excuse.

"Calm yourself." Ah, there's the familiar voice of Rhea. "Whatever is out there is not capable of taking the temple on its lonesome, it can be dealt with easily, ready yourselves archers."

Aside from the chatter around me, I couldn't have my ears tune into whatever unusual sounds there were outside the temple - straining them would be a waste of energy now - thus I completely focused on actually _seeing_ the threat. Hopefully that would not prove to be a mistake, but reality is cruel.

" **...YoUr sOuLs wIll bE mInE!** "

That brought up some shivers in me, but it appeared that one of the temple guard's reaction was far worse than mine as a scream emanated from my right. I had no time to see who had scream as the walls shook, fortunately I remained balanced as I knelt behind one of the crenels, but the guards were not as fortunate as I am as more than a few of them staggered and fell on their asses but none had fallen off the battlements in the shaking.

In the name of Gaia and Seraphine, where is it coming from?! The thumping seems close enough for me to at least notice the damned thing, but apparently not close enough, nonetheless I tightened my grip on Grudge in response.

Still keeping my eyes darting back and forth in my field of vision, keeping myself tense did not prepare me for the screeching that echoed from the dark, and it certainly sounded like there was more than _one_ of whatever was out there. The fact that the R.A.S. system referred to the foe as a singular threat also did not help as it meant that along with a threat that can easily kill me it also had supporting units to fully attack the temple. It was far too late to have second thoughts about my current predicament now, thus I kept my position and Grudge propped up on the crenel.

" **HeRe I cOmE~!** "

The wall shook violently, so much so that I had to hold onto the merlons to keep myself stable, following that was even more screeching that seemed to belong to dozens upon dozens of entities. Briefly lifting up Grudge to look over the wall, what was seen made me pale.

!

At ground-level there were seemingly scores of _regular people_ \- i.e. humans, considering Terros' many races - and at the head of a massive crowd was something that towered over them, while I could only see its head and shoulders it was more than enough for me to make an assumption that it was a _daemon_ , if the horns and red skin were any indication and any other physical features that I spotted was that its back could possibly have spikes jutting out, perhaps from its spine if it used the stereotypical appearance that I would expect.

As I continued my observation, I eventually noticed that its following was not as it seemed, as there were more than a few of them that had a type of _wrongness_ to them, it was quite obvious if you look at it clearly as some of them had their legs or arms twisted in odd angles. Although I'm relying on their shadowed outlines it was enough to notice it, but the shouting of temple guards brought me back in, ceasing my observations.

"Archers! Take aim!" Rhea ordered, raising a sword - "Fire!" - and bringing it down.

While the temple guards weren't numerous, they certainly made up for it in terms of skill, as several arrows pelted the heads of the horde below - kill shots - in expert precision. However, a few arrows hit something other than the head, and what would be presumed as kill shots were certainly not registered as the same for the things attacking the wall, one of them had an arrow sticking out of his neck for Gaia's sake!

Nevertheless, their attack spurred me on to finally utilize Grudge in the defense, peaking over the wall with said sniper rifle in hand and beginning to take potshots at them.

As I fired, I found out the recoil wasn't as bad as I had thought it out to be considering that it was a sniper rifle the size of a Barrett M82, and my intended target's head exploded a moment's later, following that three more skulls popped as the bullets did indeed bounce in mid-air and killed more foes. It also appeared that the R.A.S. system did mean that I would receive nothing from killing them until I finished them _all_ off.

The initial shot fired seemed to have slowed down time around me, at first I had thought it was another one of the effects of Grudge, but as I felt my veins rush blood and my breathing quicken, it appeared that I felt... _exhilarated_ , and I never even noticed how many times I pulled the trigger. Still, I fought with the determination to preserve as many lives as possible from this battle, but the thralls - I'll refer to the weaker entities as such considering they're not human, at least, not anymore - continued to claw at the walls whilst the daemon continued smashing itself against said wall.

While paying the daemon no mind, I continued to fire into the horde, no longer aiming as Grudge killed far more when I'm not going for precision shots. However, I heard an unsettling crack emanate from below me, just as the wall shook - furthering the sound.

!

The daemon was breaking through the wall! Redirecting Grudge to the damned thing's head, I fired-

 **R̓A̗͐̌̊̓̏A̾Aͥ͆̒̌ͭ̈A͖̫̩̮̪̗̖̓̄̏͗͛ͦ̈́Ȁ̞̞̞̺̜̹̽͂͆ͧ͒̂A̱͙͓̬͈̫̯ͥͣA͈͍̪̝̦A̗̬̜ͤ͊̏̈́̍ͧͅA̦͇̞̱͐͂͋G̱̜̪̯͎̈͑H̦͕̬̖̺̼̭̚!̲̓̂**

-to no avail, as it merely bounced off its head! Fortunately, it hit one of the thralls behind it, so that was that but it still did not change the fact that the daemon took one of Grudge's rounds to the head and shrugged it off like it was nothing. Assuming that I fired .50 BMG, that is, considering the damage done to the heads turned into bloody mists then I'll need heavier firepower as Grudge was no doubt my main damage-dealing weapon - or it could quite possibly be a mana shield in the works, protecting the foul beast.

I swore as I heard the wall crack further. Looking to the right, I saw that the temple guards were certainly doing their jobs as their archers sought to take out as many of them as possible, to thin out the horde, no doubt believing that the daemon would be resistant to their flint arrowheads and that they would face it in CQC with steel weapons at the forefront.

This was just one big bloody mes-!

"Fuck!" I jumped back as an inhuman hand swiped at me, slightly elongated nails were enough to do damage to any 'regular' person.

Lifting up Grudge, I slammed the butt of the weapon into the thrall's face, sending it back down screeching. As I did so, I did manage to take a closer examination of its features, an expression that seems to have been forever etched into a disturbingly face of sheer terror, stacked with an unnatural shade of pale skin. If that wasn't enough then its eyes were but a simple black, enveloping its sclera, iris, and pupil, it was right to call them thralls based on their appearance.

I was not the only one to be faced with the thralls coming up the walls, and I cursed my own blindness as I should've noticed the things climbing up the wall had I been paying proper attention. That being said, I focused back in on the threat before myself, and seeing that the thralls were scaling - no, crawling up the wall, it seemed that I would have to engage in CQC. Placing Grudge back in my inventory, I took out Caerulus Mors and Crowd Control in its place, while it was an odd combination of weaponry, Light of the North had very little ammo left and I couldn't exactly carry my other firearms.

"Defend the temple! Do not let it fall!" There goes Rhea once again, keeping the morale of the temple guard up. "For Seraphine!" A valiant war cry followed after that was said.

Even her words encouraged me to fight with much more vigor as more of the thralls came over the merlons and crenels in increasing numbers, all sharing the same features of the one I examined up close. While they lacked the combat ability to be any real threat individually to either the temple guards or myself, they most certainly made up for it in numbers, although we were quickly thinning them out as scores of them were cut down to dozens of them.

A thrall came screeching at me, prompting me to slam Crowd Control into its disfigured body, sending it staggering back and allowing for me to slash at its head with Caerulus Mors, easily removing its head from its shoulders. I cast its dismembered head a disgusted look, as it seemed to still have some life to it as it still moved slightly, ignoring that as it was incapacitated, I focused back on the encroaching thralls.

Sidestepping a thrall that lunged forward with its claws seeking to land a hit on me, retaliation came in the form of lopping off its hand and slamming the pommel of my sword into its mouth, no doubt breaking most, if not all of its teeth. Finishing it off by simply ramming Caerulus Mors into its head with a sickening squelch, I tore it out as I slammed Crowd Control into the slightly uneven surface of the wall, clamping it down onto the rock.

Doing so would allow me to fully utilize Caerulus Mors of its intended purpose as a lightning-quick weapon in my arsenal.

Half a dozen of them swarmed at me, hands poised to strike me down, clumsy they may be, it would not matter should they surround me and claw at my person. Parrying and lashing out with a riposte, I left a bleeding jagged wound in one of the thrall's neck, but apparently that was not enough as it continued to try and scuff at me, thus I made for another slash at its neck, fully beheading it. While I was appalled at the zombie-like behavior, it wasn't really all that surprising as I have to fully expect the supernatural to become the norm in my life, Sera Alyssos is a prime example of this considering her nature as a goddess.

With five more to go, I tuned back in on the fight, hacking away at the thralls with the intent to aim for the head or at least behead them so that they no longer remained a threat. I took several blows whilst I fought, but my own mana shield absorbed all the cuts for me, chipping away a meager fifty to a hundred points of its durability for every hit and I did not such attacks go freely without some form of retaliation.

Ducking under a swing that was far too slow to hit me, I struck at its legs, effectively crippling it as it toppled over mid-screech. Rolling to the side as the incapacitated thrall fell over, I swept two thralls' legs from underneath them, knocking them off their feet and for their heads to slam into the stone with such force that it had dazed them. Quickly eliminating the two that were still stunned on the floor with swift stabs to the back of their heads, it was only mere moments after that the remaining two surged forth in a frenzy with foam frothing at their lips.

While my movement wasn't entirely hindered by the weight of the full-body kevlar that I wore, I was still capable of a quick back step to narrowly avoid two sets of hands passing by a hair's length over my face. Performing several quick blows to their torsos' and legs - leaving behind slash marks that oozed a completely _black_ blood - to ensure that they suffered for attacking the temple and the innocents that were in it before I thrusted Caerulus Mors into both of their heads to end it.

I had a feeling that the small battle would've been far easier had I used firearms to simply shoot them in their heads, but it was far too late now to reconsider my choice of weapons until now.

Detaching Crowd Control from the stone and placing it back in the inventory along with Caerulus Mors and bringing out my trusty M1911 in their place. A pistol would be the most useful in my current situation, Sig Sauer and Grudge were meant for mid-to-long range combat, and with the current area a small arm weapon would be best.

Looking back to the temple guard, I grimaced as I saw more than a few of them were injured, but there were two among them that were _still_ , and I knew already that they had fallen in combat against the thralls. Fortunately, it seemed that Rhea wasn't a casualty as she stood over their dead with a solemn expression on her face, and the feeling of guilt was quickly squashed as soon as it welled up inside me, Gamer's Mind is doing its job and now is not the time to have negative emotions clouding my thoughts.

Even if I did not feel guilt, I mused as I walked towards Rhea and the recovering guard, I should at least have a few words with her while I still have time with our brief moment of relief.

"Rhea..." I started, and she looked up, grim-faced. "You have my condolences, for what's happening now, none of this wouldn't have happened had I not been here in the first place." She looked sharply at me, narrowing her eyes.

"What do you mean?" She took a step forward. "How could this possibly be your fault?"

"These _things_ are here because of my presence, they are here because they wish to kill me along with everyone in the temple." Now _that_ , seemed to change her stoic expression into one of cold fury. "Even if we combined our might, it is a high possibility that we will all be killed by the beast trying to break into the temple, now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves."

She calmed down slightly at that but kept a small form of silent contempt for me, "Then what do _you_ suggest we do?"

...Sacrifices must be made.

Facing the daemon would be suicide, while I hope that most of the refugees have at least found some form of safety within the buildings that were on temple grounds to hide away from the damned thing banging on the wall, it is an inevitability that there will be some deaths. However, Katianna, Rhea, Rosalina, my own companions, and myself took precedence above all others, even if it may seem cold of me I will still do my best to save as many lives as possible as long as the aforementioned are safe.

"Get to safety, hide, run, anything to avoid fighting it." I cut her off before she could protest, "It is not cowardice, not when this being outclasses all of us, but someone must stay behind to fight it should we hide, as that is our only realistic option. Running will get us nowhere, and surrendering to it is simply idiotic, thus hiding is the best choice."

"And who would exactly take up such a responsibility?" She raised a brow, incredulous. "Even if someone does, they will most surely di-"

"I shall distract it."

Rhea's head snapped over to the temple guard that had spoken up, I as well followed Rhea's line of sight to her. There was nothing special about her, appearance-wise, as she shared the same apparel with the rest of her comrades, although in terms of weaponry that differs among the temple guard she wields a simple lance and a round shield. I must commend her bravery, facing the daemon that is to come while the rest of us hide away that would guarantee one's death is remarkable.

"And you are?" I questioned, curious to know of the selfless woman's identity.

"Sylva Br-"

!

" **HeRe I aM!** "

"Shit!" I swore, while the wall has managed to last quite awhile against the daemon - proving its sturdiness - Rhea still had wounded up here on the battlements. "Rhea, let's get the injured out of here, quickly!" She nodded, lifting up one of the injured into a fireman's carry after sheathing her weapon.

Knowing her part, Sylva - bless her soul - took point, quickly going down the stairs with her lance and shield on her back while the two dozen or so temple guards and myself followed after. Just as the daemon began bellowing, releasing its horrendous roar, the walls shook - dropping dust and some pebble-sized pieces of the wall down on us, and it started to feel a lot more claustrophobic in the already-cramped space as it shook further.

As Sylva opened the door, she was illuminated in an orange glow, and I feared for the worse as that could quite possibly mean that the courtyard was in flames but it appeared that she paid it no mind, as she strode forth, drawing her lance and shield, I entered the courtyard from behind her and the beast was a _daemon_ in every sense of the word.

If the courtyard being bathed in flames was any indication then the daemon was fully capable of conjuring some form of fire magic. Not to mention that its appearance was far worse than I had thought it to be, not including the horns and the spine-like protrusions coming from its back that I had already seen from the battlements. Its facial features were grotesque, to say the least, as it seemed to be stuck into a permanent snarl added with what seemed to be pus leaking out of its orifices. If that wasn't enough, the daemon that was three times my size had a necklace made of human skulls and other things... most likely from a few of the different races on Terros, but the rest of its body was fairly humanoid barring the paws it had for feet.

The last thing to do was use Observe on this entity.

 **Name: Zal'Tenzhun  
Race: Lesser Daemon (+Enhanced Fire Affinity, -Weak To White Magic)  
Class: Novice Daemon (+25 STR)  
Age: 6 Months  
**

 **Level: (?-?)  
**

 **Title: Manifestation of War - This title represents the purpose as to why you exist, born from the pain and suffering of hundreds of thousands of those whom are caught in a war that brings large-scale destruction, and you are inclined to spread more of such a thing. (+Power From Suffering Beings)**

Well, at least it isn't a thousand levels over me, that'd practically spell death for everyone near this... Zal'Tenzhun.

"Quickly, everyone must go while I distract this abomination!"

Snapping out of it, I broke into a full sprint towards - what I can remember - the building that held Katianna's chambers, and from the few bodies around the former-courtyard of the temple it was likely that the refugees had the same idea. It was highly likely that the building will be crowded with the masses, thus hiding will be incredibly difficult - if there even is anywhere to hide and weather the storm that is Zal'Tenzhun.

As Sylva charged at the daemon - whom was busy eating someone's poor body - the rest of us made a beeline for the main building, carefully navigating through the flames. From the corner of my eyes, I could just barely see the battle between Sylva and Zal'Tenzhun - a battle in which she unfortunately but expectedly was losing - and it was quite fortunate that I was able to see it as a ball of flames gathered in front of it.

" **SuFfEr! FeEl tHe dEsPaIr!** "

Eyes widening in panic, I saw the ball of flames reach its boiling point as it became increasingly unstable, until it expanded into a man-sized beam that tore through Sylva, - eviscerating her side - with it continuing its path!

Cringing as a cry of pain emanated from behind me, I continued my stride, if the flames were as powerful as I believe them to be then the temple guard that was hit is most surely dead or in a near-death state. While regrettable, going back to save her would only put everyone at risk and for Sylva's sacrifice to be for naught should the daemon notice us running.

With the doors so close, I prepared to charge through it by raising my arms to cover myself, trying to sprint faster.

 _CRASH!_

Bursting through the doors with enough force to splinter it - but still leave them standing - I was met with the spear tips of two temple guards.

Both - seeing who we were - quickly lowered their spears and hurried us in, "Close the doors!" The last one in - which would coincidentally be Rhea - slammed the doors shut after laying down her injured comrade. "Lady Nix had us leave the doors unbarred, as she knew all of you would still be out there, it would be best to bar them now." Rhea did just that, effectively preventing anything from getting in without some effort.

"Come with us now, we must seek shelter before that _thing_ discovers us." One of the two that were here before ourselves gestured for us to follow her.

Imagine my surprise when there was a hidden passageway that was going under Katianna's stairs, split between the middle, I certainly didn't expect it to be under her platform. Nevertheless, everyone had went down, and it seemed that I was the only one that was surprised at seeing the passageway. One of my questions was also answered when I heard multiple hushed voices, and it was confirmed when I saw scores of the refugees crowded together in a fairly large room. Katianna being at the head of the group, hands alit with a golden aura.

 **Status Effect [Presence Concealment] has been inflicted upon you! +Hidden Presence!**

Ah, that must be what that golden aura is for, it never came to mind that the daemon would be capable of still finding our presence beneath the temple aside from the most basic senses. Clearly, I'm not thinking of everything, still being stuck in my Earth-mindset with conventional methods that would be considered useless here on Terros will eventually be a massive mistake.

"Ah, thank goodness you've all made it here." Katianna nodded towards us, keeping her concentration. "Assuming that this is everyone, then the entrance must be closed. Rhea, can you do so?"

"Of course."

With the Huscarl doing so, the Priestess turned her attention towards me. "I see you've become our lady's champion, Raphael, my congratulations to you." I didn't need to look behind me to see that her words turned more than a few heads from the temple guards behind me. "Do not think I wouldn't have noticed, it's quite blatantly shining in front of me."

"So... The secret is out then." Although, I'm sure it wouldn't have been a secret for long.

"To be honest, it was never truly a 'secret', as you put it." She smirked at me, as if though she knew something that I didn't, which bothers me as information is the most important thing to have on Terros, aside from superior weapons - which I'm not lacking as of now. "Enough of that now, we must be silent lest my magic be for naught, and the daemon will find us." Well, Katianna certainly knows what Zal'Tenzhun is, and she is most certainly more informed than everyone else here.

As the chamber rumbled, likely signaling the closing of the entrance, many of the refugees abruptly went silent aside from the occasional cry of a child and the hushing of a parent. The atmosphere was tense, fear from death is a reason that will be the common answer - the primal sense of self-preservation is something that we all have after all, for mankind that is, not so sure about the other races on Terros.

!

I stopped that line of thought as the very ground and walls shook, effectively eliminating all sources of sound coming from within this room. The atmosphere of the room being thick enough that one could cut it with a knife. However, that did not mean I wouldn't defend myself should it come to it, replacing the M1911 with the Sig Sauer 556. Grudge has the firepower, but the assault rifle has fire rate, which would be needed to whittle down Zal'Tenzhun's assumed mana shield.

" _... **wHeRe aRe yOu lItTlE mOrTaLs~!**_ "

Tensing as it sounded like that the daemon was a bit too close for comfort, I raised my rifle, aiming for the stairs as I positioned myself in front of Katianna - she was most likely the only one aside from Rhea and myself capable of actually eliminating Zal'Tenzhun.

Although... Now that it came to mind, I haven't seen Rosalina nor any of my companions, but I did not have time to waste as the situation was teetering on going from bad to worse. The best I could do was hope that they made it safely in, if they didn't... I'd rather not think of it.

As sounds of destruction were heard from above, it appeared that Zal'Tenzhun was getting frustrated in its efforts to find us, that or it has found the entryway and is digging through it. Either one is as bad as the other, if the building collapses in on itself then the entrance will be blocked, effectively sealing us in. If it did find us, well, that situation is self-explanatory.

The sounds continued for several more minutes and it seemed to have no intention of stopping, I let out a small sigh as it appears that we'll be stuck down here for a while.

Again, hoping that the situation won't deteriorate further.

* * *

 **(Unknown Amount of Time Later)**

...

Gamer's Mind - or was it Gamer's Body? - is proving its use in this situation, my lack of sleep did nothing to me, unlike many of the temple guards that were currently slumped over with their backs against the wall. Rhea on the other hand, was fully awake, looking no worse for wear as she simply stared straight ahead at the steps, sitting Indian style with her helmet and weapon laid next to her as I was doing the same.

Katianna though... she was laid over on my back, sleeping soundly with her arms wrapped around me, it was quite the surprise when she had suddenly fell over on me a while ago - I lost track of time, being stuck underground and unmoving does that to you. The sounds from above had abruptly stopped around... two hours ago, I believe, but for all I know it could've been thirty minutes or eight hours.

Nevertheless, it appeared that Zal'Tenzhun was now gone, and if it was still in the area then I would've heard its loud steps roaming about on the surface. However, I couldn't exactly move, not in my current predicament with Katianna's pressed against my back, especially with the fact that I was feeling her rather... _ample assets_. Now, I was by no means a pervert, but I couldn't exactly help the tinge of arousal that arose in me with every shift the blonde woman made on my back - further pressing her breasts against me.

Not to mention what would happen if Rosalina were to see this sight, she'd no doubt be... a bit angry(?), again, I do not know.

" _Raphael..._ " I blinked, looking back towards Rhea as she spoke. "As amusing as it is to see Lady Nix in a... compromising position with you, perhaps we should see if the daemon is gone?"

"How, exactly?" I tilted my head to indicate the form of Katianna.

She rolled her eyes, "Simply wake her up, it is not that difficult."

I sighed, I'd rather not do this but I have no choice in the matter, " _Katianna_ , wake up..." Reaching over my back and gently shaking her, causing her to groan and stir.

" _Hnh_ , _what is it...?_ " She groggily spoke, and I felt her lift her head up from my back.

"I believe the daemon is gone, but I can't check with you on my back." I received a sound of disapproval in response, "Come on, time to get up." It was odd, to see Katianna behave like this, but then again, I haven't known her for long.

Feeling her arms detach from me, finally allowing myself to stretch out, I stood - taking up my rifle with me. Although, with her now awake perhaps she'd come along with Rhea and I to see if the coast is clear, that would certainly create a dangerous trio. Turning around and offering a hand to the priestess - said woman was rubbing her eyes tiredly.

After a few moments of shaking off her weariness, she eventually took the offered hand, to which I pulled her onto her feet with a grunt.

"Do you want to come with us?" I gestured towards the only entrance and exit of these chambers, that I was aware of that is. "Unless you want to stay behind, there is no need for you to exhaust yourself."

"I-I'll come with, I am still quite weary but there is no need to worry about me." She waved it away, rising to her full height with pride to indicate that she was fine.

Well, I suppose that's all I need to hear, Katianna can take care of herself so I needn't worry on that front. While I was confident that the three of us would be capable of taking down greater foes, Zal'Tenzhun was in an entirely different league, but I could be completely blowing it out of proportion, and I am merely overestimating it - however, with the brief description that was offered I will take no chances.

"If you two are done, shall we move along?" Rhea spoke up, tapping her foot against the stone ground. "The safety of the innocent here could still very well be in jeopardy Raphael, Lady Nix."

"Of course, open the entrance." Katianna nodded towards Rhea, whom returned the gesture and pulled a lever that I had somehow not noticed before, following that there was a slight rumble, fortunately not waking up anyone in the process.

Once the rumbling had stopped, the three of us had made to move up the steps, Rhea taking up the front with her superior CQC skills, I took the center with superior ranged combat, whilst Katianna brought up the rear with her superior white magic abilities - the one likely to cause the most damage to the daemon out of our little trio. Disregarding those thoughts for a moment as a bright light - but not as bright as the travel method to get to the Hub - illuminated the steps that already had lit torches to guide us up, it was likely that it was day and the entrance wasn't barred by any debris.

"Be wary, the daemon could still be lingering around." Rhea raised her sword - a short sword, to be exact - in front of her.

I could only tighten my grip on the rifle in my hands, _if_ it was still lingering about then we would've heard it, or it could quite possibly be playing the waiting game and simply remaining still, assuming that it had the patience for such a thing. Stepping into the sunlight, I basked in the sun, enjoying the warmth it provided as the feeling of the dank underground chamber was not nearly as enjoyable as this, but now was not the time to enjoy such a luxury.

"Do you see anything Raphael, Lady Nix?" Rhea asked, eyes roaming about the once stylish building turning into a half-smoldered and half-scarred structure.

"No, nothing." I responded, and Katianna gave her own affirmative-sound.

The chambers of Katianna were utterly decimated, half of the building seemed to have been burned and/or melted by the daemon, proven by the burnt marks on the remains and the few lit fires here and there, all of that resulted in the chambers being exposed to the outside. The other half, well... where there were once pillars and podiums were nothing more than shattered pieces of marble, unrecognizable now, if one were to look at these for the first time then they'd see nothing but debris whereas I pictured where there were once decorations and ornaments in its place. Pieces of the vases that were once held up by podiums now lay scattered around, and I couldn't imagine Katianna being calm in response to all this.

Giving the priestess a glance, I frowned at her saddened look, gazing at her surroundings somberly. The blonde woman pulled down her hood, allowing her long blonde hair to be free, and she leaned down to pick up a piece of one of the vases. It was clear that the vases had sentimental value to her, the way she held the piece was obvious.

"My predecessors..." She fiddled with the vase piece. "The priestesses that served Lady Seraphine before me, their ashes are scattered..." I swore I saw a tear go down her face.

"Katianna, are you okay?" I laid a hand on her shoulder in concern.

"I-I'm... merely saddened by the loss of..." She paused, bending over and gently laying down the vase piece in its original spot. "Those who I had once aspired to be, hundreds of years of priestesses that served and now... they're scattered to the winds."

"You have my sympathies, Katianna."

"Thank you Raphael..." She nodded gratefully to me, her lips curving upwards a little. "Now, enough of my griping, there is still a daemon to search for around here, no?"

Her control over her own emotions is certainly impressive, but I suppose that would come with the years of experience that she's had. Nevertheless, I kept myself alert, confirmation on whether or not the daemon was still present is priority, as unlikely as it is for it to still be around.

With eyes roaming about - ignoring the bodies, burnt or otherwise - the area, there was no sign of Zal'Tenzhun nor did my only sensory skill go off to indicate the danger. Not to mention the Gamer didn't even inform me of anything regarding my current situation.

Rhea eventually stopped, appearing to lower her guard as she sheathed her sword. "There's no sign of it, perhaps it must've fled when day approached." Ah, good, now there was no longer a need to continue this fruitless search and I lowered my rifle as there was no reason to keep my weapon raised.

Now that there was no need to remain wary, I observed my surroundings, the bodies and debris that were scattered about the once-beautiful temple brought in a depressing atmosphere. It was doubtful that the temple would be rebuilt anytime soon, as there were several holes in the wall, but none bigger than the one Zal'Tenzhun used to enter the temple. Not to mention the casualties done to the temple guard, the Temple of Seraphine won't be able to recover, especially with the fact that they were within a kingdom at war, bandits will be the least of their problems - there was also Zal'Tenzhun, whom was likely roaming the land, bringing death with it.

A sharp gasp drew my attention, as well as Katianna's and Rhea's, there was a survivor?!

" _H-Help..._ " That sounded like... Sylva!

Impossible, out of the many that were victims to Zal'Tenzhun actions, Sylva, the one who faced the daemon in single combat, was alive? However, that didn't matter right now as I rushed forward, heading towards where her voice came from, her voice sounded... weak, and there was no doubt that she was on Death's Door.

Stopping briefly, as I couldn't spot her anywhere among the debris and bodies, I swore.

Where is she...?

" _U-Ugh..._ "

 _There!_

Skidding to a stop in front of a pile of stones that were directly next to the wall, I gave the crater in the wall a passing glance as I began digging through the rubble, ignoring the broken lance stabbed into the ground as well. There was no doubt about it, Sylva was buried under _here_! As I dug through - with Rhea and Katianna eventually catching up and joining me in doing so - the stone, I thought of the scenario which would lead to Sylva being alive and in this position that she is in now.

Whilst Sylva engaged in CQC with Zal'Tenzhun, it was most likely that after the beam of fire tore through her side, she dropped her guard which allowed the daemon to get a hit in, flinging her away and into the wall where she had created the crater I saw a moment ago in its structure. Although, she wasn't embedded in it and fell to the ground, with more than enough pieces of the wall going down with her in the process to bury her under a pile of stone. However, the force that was put behind such a blow to create a crater in the wall should've killed her, if not that then she would've died from her injuries - blood loss - over the course of a few hours without assistance. Again, an impossibility that she survived the battle, but that's my angle of it in terms of viewing it - an outsider's perspective, really.

After imagining Sylva's recent scenario - we had already dug her up halfway through my thoughts - her injuries were life threatening as I had thought before, if she does not receive medical attention she will die very soon.

To be honest, aside from her being caked in dirt and dried blood, her wounds were far worse than the condition of one of the A3M's after engaging Velyn Kurst's minions as there were several severe burns marks on her body marring her skin. Along with the burns there were a few dozen cuts, all cauterized - making me assume that the burns came after the cuts, or both before and after. However, those injuries were not her worst, the one that was actually the worst was the gaping hole in her side, even if it was cauterized she was sure to have internal bleeding doubled with a massive hemorrhage from her impact with the wall.

"Katianna!" The aforementioned woman's head shot up, retracting her hands from the debris. "Is it possible for you to heal her?"

"I-I...I'm not sure if I can heal her to such an extent." She gazed uncertainly at Sylva, the latter of whom gave out ragged gasps. "But I will try to save her nonetheless, she deserves that much at the very least for her sacrifice."

With that, Katianna's hands lit up with a golden aura, emitting the very same presence - albeit on a weaker scale - that I felt from the goddess Seraphine herself during my contact with her in the corporeal realm. As Sylva's body was enveloped by the aura emitted from Katianna's hands, I grimaced as I heard several sickening snaps, likely a few snapped bones fixing themselves. A few of her cuts closed, leaving behind faded scars in their place, and Sylva's labored breathing eventually devolved into a calmed regular rhythm. However, the hole in her side was still present, and I was unsure if she stabilized or not as she was still unconscious.

"Ugh..." Katianna gasped, lurching forward, the golden aura no longer being emitted from her hands.

Catching her, I hadn't expected her to be so exhausted but I suppose such powers have its limits, what with her breathing being unsteady.

"I-I'm fine..." The priestess gasped, leaning heavily on me. "I-I've simply exhausted too much of my powers, with little to no time to recover, it has put a great strain on me..."

Ah, well, that makes sense considering that she spent the night concealing the scores of people in the underground chambers, that obviously must've put a heavy strain on her but she had pushed herself further to heal Sylva the best she could. It was surprising that she wasn't unconscious like Sylva, and I have to commend her for her fortitude - quite certain my attraction to her is definite by now.

"Do you need some time to recover?" I shifted slightly to provide some semblance of comfort for her, considering I had kevlar on.

"N-No..." She denied, moving back and standing unsteadily. "Just give me a moment..."

Weakened she may be, she still managed to remained standing with no assistance - albeit with some difficulty at first - on her own.

"If you two are perhaps, done? Shall we take Sylva to the others, so that we may search for other survivors?" Rhea popped up with an expression of amusement.

I nodded, "Right, let's get her up then."

Lifting up Sylva - eliciting a groan of pain from her - and placing her arm over my shoulder with Rhea doing the same on the other side after she sheathed her sword. It was quite fortunate that the temple guard choose not to wear any heavy sets of armor, thus she was fairly light to carry. Whilst this happened, Katianna merely followed us, keeping an eye out for any signs of movement, be they hostile or friendly.

I perked up as I heard some muttering come from Sylva, but her eyes were still closed, perhaps she was in the midst of a dream now that the pain caused by her wounds had subsided? However, her mutterings were unintelligible, sounding like nothing more than the rambling of a madwoman, but that is hardly the case as she was the perfect case of being - well, somewhat - sane before she engaged Zal'Tenzhun.

Grunting as both Rhea and I tread carefully through the mounds of debris, we took extra precautions not to further harm Sylva in the process as she suffered enough already at the hands of the daemon. I poured in a bit more effort when we had reached the steps to the underground chamber, prompting Rhea to do the same as well, leaving Sylva several inches off the ground in between us.

Reaching the bottom, I saw that several of the temple guards were up along with many of the remaining refugees, the former being wary, indicated when some of them raised their weapons up at us as we entered but quickly lowered them just as quickly as they raised them. A few of them even rushed forward as they spotted Sylva in our arms, taking her from us and into their arms instead, and laying her down on a bedroll.

"It is clear." Rhea announced to both the temple guard and the refugees. "However, I still require many of the guard to come with me to find more survivors before the refugees can walk about freely."

Rhea's words received voices of agreement, eliciting most of them to equip their helmets and sheathe their weapons, whilst the refugees had expressions of relief at the daemon being gone. Rhea nodded at them, turning towards Katianna and myself.

"Lady Nix, Raphael, are you going to come with us?" She crossed her arms, tilting her head towards the entrance.

Katianna shook her head, "No, I still need time to recover from the use of my powers."

Rhea then turned to me, raising a brow. "And you, Raphael?"

I shook my head as well, "I can't, I have to see if Rosalina made it down here with everyone else."

"Understandable, then please rest Lady Nix, and I do hope you find the woman you're looking for Raphael." She spun around on her heel, marching up the steps with several of the temple guard following her. Hopefully, some survivors will be found in their search.

Katianna sighed from beside me, "Raphael..." She sat down, laying her back against the stone cold walls. "I will be coming with you once you find Rosalina, with the temple in the state that it is in currently, nothing can be done until after the war is over so I will be traveling to the capital alongside you." Interesting, how she knew I was heading for the capital must've been the work of Seraphine, considering she knows much already.

"Okay then..." I hummed, I didn't account for anymore people traveling with me aside from the A3M and other companions or support units I would bring with me should I need them. Clapping her on the shoulder, I continued. "Rest up Katianna, you'll need it for all the things we'll be doing in the near future..." She seemed to become flustered at that, and I gave a little smirk of victory when that happened, considering it to be payback for the teasing she gave me last time.

Searching through the crowd of refugees was easy, as they made a path for me when I walked near, although it is understandable that they would part ways considering that I was armed. In fact, it should be fairly easy to find Rosalina with my companions, with their choice of apparel they will stick out amongst the crowd of brown colored clothing. Ah, speak of the devil - which could potentially exist on Terros - I see them now, and it is a tiny bit... concerning as I found them at the very back at the chambers.

All of them were here, thankfully, but their clothing was singed, and none more so than Hal's cloak which he sacrificed to be Rosalina's temporary blanket. The Recon Marines seemed fine for the most part, as they leered at anyone who got close to their little encirclement, and it was certainly effective with their NVGs' on. Now most importantly, Rosalina looked to be unharmed as she slept, aside from the dirt caking her dress it appeared that my companions took the brunt of the damage for her.

Passing through my companions, I knelt down by her sleeping form, slumped against the wall. Of course, I'd hate to interrupt her 'beauty sleep' but it is imperative that we leave for the capital as soon as possible so, I gently shook her shoulder.

" _Wha...?_ " She looked up cutely, blinking repeatedly, yawning. " _R_ -Raphael!" I was surprised when she went forward with her arms wrapping around me, which I reciprocated a moment later. "I-I didn't know if you made it down here or not, I was worried for you." How... heartwarming, I mused as Rosalina nuzzled my shoulder.

"You don't need to worry about me Rosa, if anything I should be worried about you, not the other way around." She simply cooed at my words, wrapping her arms tighter around me, up to the point that it became a bit uncomfortable. "Er, R-Rosa, you're hugging me a bit tight there."

"Oh!" She noticed, and relented, allowing me to exhale a sigh of relief as she gave me a look of embarrassment. "Sorry..." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

I waved my hand dismissively, "It's fine, you simply don't know your own strength." She hummed at that, tapping a finger against her chin. "Anyhow, you have your things, right?"

She perked up at that, "Yes, I do! Thanks to your warning ahead of time I managed to gather everything, just before that... _thing_ , broke through the wall."

"Good, because we're heading out to the capital, now." I affirmed, "No time to waste Rosa."

"Fine~" She pouted, picking up Hal's cloak and handing it back to said ranger, lifting her bag of things in its place.

"Oh, and the priestess will be coming with us on our journey too." I informed her, ignoring her splutter of surprise that came with my words. "Hal, Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, follow us."

Receiving affirmatives, we walked back through the refugees, once again parting ways, creating a path for us. Beyond that, Katianna stood waiting, her hood once again creating a shadow over her facial features only revealing the lower part of her face. She appeared to be carrying nothing but the clothes on her back, it seemed she didn't need any of her personal effects - if she had any at all - for the journey.

"Raphael, I see you've found your party, shall we be going now?" She spoke warmly, and I glanced back, seeing Rosalina looking at Katianna with a tiny bit of jealous in her eyes.

Looking back to Katianna, I nodded. "Yeah, let's get going." Wait a moment... "Katianna, what about Rhea and the others? The temple guard, the refugees?" They could still need her after Zal'Tenzhun's attack, injuries and what not.

"Fret not Raphael, Rhea and the rest of the temple guard can still aid them with herbs and other medicinal items." She smiled at me. "And I do have a feeling that you'll need me more than they do on this journey of _ours_." I could practically _feel_ the jealousy emanating from Rosalina directed at Katianna.

"Well..." I hesitated after feeling Rosalina's jealous feelings. "If you say so, I will not doubt your word, shall we be going now?"

"Of course~" She curtsied, joining our group's travel up the steps, with Katianna saying her farewells to the temple guard.

Hopefully, Rosalina won't be jealous for long, cause it seemed at first she respected Katianna after the latter had created the mental block for her. Although, her traveling with us to the capital will take several days, which would mean she'd also get closer to me - I assume, if Rosalina would allow the blonde woman to make contact with me during the trip, that is-

Ah, there's Rhea coming up to us.

"Lady Nix, Raphael..." She narrowed her eyes. "Where are you two going?" Well, a bit rude that she ignored Rosalina and my companions.

"Rhea, we're... going to the capital, to assist in the war effort." She scowled at my words.

"And why are you taking Lady Nix with you?" She crossed her arms angrily. "While I do not doubt your martial prowess, it is simply too dangerous for her to go out there right now."

Katianna cut me off as I tried to speak, "Rhea, I am fully capable of handling myself, and I trust Raphael and his party." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "You cannot stop us from leaving, please don't try to do so."

"I..." Rhea paused, hesitating. "Fine... Lady Nix, I trust them with you."

"However!" She continued, glaring at me. "Raphael... If I find out that Lady Nix is harmed in any way, I will _hunt_ you down, understand?" Well, that's just great.

"I understand." I confirmed her words, and she smiled.

"Good, I do hope that... warning, is sufficient enough." She gestured for us to follow her. "Come with me, I'll open the gate for us."

Wait... us?

"If you thought that I would simply allow you to travel without someone Lady Nix trusts, then that's simply ridiculous." Well, I suppose that makes sense then. "It will be far better to have someone of my caliber traveling with you as well, correct?"

I cannot argue with that logic, watching as Rhea quickly went up to the battlements to open up the gate, and as said gate opened Rhea jumped down from the battlements - much to my panic, considering it was a _very_ long drop. Much to my relief and surprise, she landed and rolled onto her feet, hardly injured at all but I'm simply just learning not to question such bizarre things.

"Let us go to the capital!" Rhea shouted, marching out the gate, with us following soon after.

Rhea is another potential... love interest to me, and Rosalina may or may not like that - most likely the latter. Hopefully, this journey will be over quickly, as I do not want to be caught in between Rosalina and Katianna or Rhea should it ever come to that. Should it come to it, I can prevent her from doing that, if she does it at all. I sighed, if I had been without Gamer's Mind, then there is no doubt that I would have a migraine.

Slowing down a bit so that Rosalina could catch up to me, I wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close so that she doesn't become... aggressive later.

I pray that there'll be no fighting amongst ourselves...

* * *

 **AN: I know, I know, a little over two and a half weeks late for this chapter, I'll just say that I'll update when I can for future chapters. I got a bit sloppy at the end of this chapter, mostly cause it's the middle of the night and I'm a bit tired, I apologize, I'm a shitty writer.**

 **Anyhow! A whole lot of love interests for Raphael! Sera Alyssos, Rosalina Surrexerunt, Katianna Nix, Rhea Kandangelos, Maria Kohl, Sylva Br-[REDACTED], Seraphine, and a whole lot more coming in the future. I know that the buildup is slow, but nearly there to the point of joining the war!**

 **Again, reviews fuel my determination to complete future chapters, criticism is appreciated!**


	8. Arc 1: Training, Bandits, Transport

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - Continent of Janus - Kingdom of Furore - ?)  
(Raphael's POV - Several Hours Later)**

The sun is setting...

While I was concerned for the temple guard and the refugees, both Katianna and Rhea reassured me that they would be fine by themselves without their leadership, saying that they would be able to relocate to one of the many shrines dedicated to Seraphine scattered around Furore. While I was relieved that there were other places that they could take shelter in, I was slightly worried as to how far they would have to travel considering there were scores of refugees and only two or three dozen temple guards. All I could do right now was merely hope for their safety, after all, traveling unimpeded to a shrine with the sick and injured is a daunting task especially with a group as large as I believe them to be moving in.

Aside from that, there was another concerning matter for the little party I had, Katianna nor Rhea had packed any food to bring along the long journey, while I didn't require sustenance I couldn't say the same about the two. If it had just been Rosalina, my companions, and myself, then I'd be confident in Hal's hunting skills - considering his class - to feed us but with Katianna and Rhea then some more effort would have to be put in.

Whilst I was musing, the weight on my back shifted, and I nearly forgot that Rosalina was on my back - which was foolish of me as I had her thighs wrapped in my arms as well as the improvement to STR from carrying her around and AGI for walking for a whole day - as a curtain of her raven hair closed around my field of vision, obstructing it once she had placed her head atop of mine.

"Rosa..." I spoke softly to her, ceasing all movement. "Is something the matter?"

" _Just becoming tired_..." She mumbled, yawning.

Well I would assume so, as she rode on my back for most of the day's travel, which was more than a few hours of having her sizable _assets_ pressed into my back. Thankfully, Katianna nor Rhea teased me about it, although I did receive an amused look from the former - much to my irritation. Never mind that though, as I suppose that we should setup camp for the night while we still have the light to do so, it wouldn't be wise to travel in the dark anyhow.

"Let's stop here then." I directed to everyone - not just Rosalina - with a slightly raised voice. "It'd be dangerous to travel any further with the sun setting."

While I couldn't exactly see the others due to Rosalina's hair in my eyes, I still received the voices of agreement from them. With that part done, having Rosalina get onto her own two feet is the only thing that needed to be done next, leaving the setup of the camp up to the rest.

"Rosa, it's time for you to get up." Patting her thigh to gain her attention, she groaned. "Don't be like that, come on."

" _Fine~_ " Feeling her pull away, allowing me see once more, I squatted down to let her stand.

Carefully releasing her legs, I stood as Rosalina wobbled around, which forced her to use her hands on me to balance herself. I chuckled, at which she glared at me for whilst she steadied herself, several hours with no use of her legs likely made them numb. After a few moments of carefully balancing herself, she was now fully capable of standing on her own, barring the occasional lingering shake or wobble when she walked around.

The Recon Marines had already created a perimeter, with Hal assisting Rhea with the creation of a fire, and Katianna went off mentioning that there was a river to go clean herself off at with Rosalina going to join her moments later. Although... now that it came to mind, perhaps I should also do so considering that it's been a week since I had a shower - an amenity that I probably won't have on Terros - and a weeks-worth of sweat, dirt, and other things would be terrible for personal hygiene. I suppose it isn't that bad though, not yet at least, if Rosalina didn't bring it up at all so far. Then again, it could quite possibly be another effect of Gamer's Mind, still wouldn't hurt to bathe though.

Putting away those thoughts for another time, it appeared that we were in an optimal position for a camp, a small clearing in a grove beside the main road that also appeared to have sheltered several before us based on the remnants of campfires or scattered pieces of rotting man-made material - the latter being used for the fire that Rhea and Hal started. On a side note, the Recon Marines would be able to keep watch for us whilst we sleep, as far as I know they don't need sleep and the NVG they have is invaluable here.

"Raphael," Rhea called out from the front of the fire, poking the flames with a branch. "I believe Lady Nix wanted your presence, for whatever reason while she bathes, I do not know."

How... odd, does Katianna intend for me to see her naked? Rosalina on the other hand possibly wouldn't mind me seeing her nude, if anything she'd display her body for me as she didn't mind me seeing her with little-to-no clothing back at her home in Kyros. While I acknowledge the feeling of attraction towards Katianna it does not necessarily mean that she will return the feelings nor does it mean that the feelings are actually real instead of simple lust for her. Anyhow, common sense would dictate that I wait for them to finish bathing but the fact that the blonde woman requested my presence as she did so left me feeling a tad bit conflicted.

"Right then, I suppose I'll go then..." I spoke, unsure, and Rhea merely hummed.

Hopefully, I won't get fucked over by my choice, the blonde woman was over a hundred levels above me and it's likely that any attack she dishes out against me will spell death or life-threatening injuries. Then again, the priestess didn't seem like one to overreact to such petty things, never mind that now, as I can vaguely hear the sound of a waterfall. Here's hoping that nothing goes wrong, otherwise... shit.

Following the sounds of a waterfall, added with walking through the forest, it would've brought upon a calm state of mind had it not been for Gamer's Mind already doing so with its passive effects. Eventually, I heard their voices, slightly drowned out by the sound of splashing water.

"... _erhaps, but I'm not sure, do not fret though._ " Hmm...? I wonder what that was all about.

Whatever they were talking about stopped as soon as I stepped into the immediate vicinity of the river - right on the edge. Spotting two piles of clothes - one being Katianna's white robes and the other being Rosalina's blue dress - gathered along the riverbank. However, it didn't keep my attention for long as a sight that was far more _interesting_ drew my eyes.

"Ah, Raphael, and for a moment I had thought you would not come."

Their voluptuous bodies were on display, thankfully not on _full_ display, as everything else below their waists was submerged in the water. With their forms being slick with water, it made them all the more enticing, and I couldn't help but stare at their beauty, something that one simply couldn't compare with Earth-women as they were leagues even far above that of a supermodel.

"Er, you asked for me Katianna...?" I'm finding it incredibly difficult to not stare, especially at their ample chests.

"Indeed I had." She confirmed, nodding. "And no, not for anything lewd." That's... reassuring(?), and I missed the last part she whispered. "This is merely a convenient area for you to practice the power Lady Seraphine has granted you, one of the more effective places, aside from the temple or shrines." Interesting, I had assumed Seraphine would be the one to train me but Katianna is just as good considering the magical prowess she display back at the temple.

"Right... I almost forgot that you knew that I became her _champion_." The divine powers that Terros has will be one more thing that I have to adapt to.

"Mm, now remove all of your clothing." Wait, what?

Even from this distance I could see her roll her eyes at my incredulous expression, "As I've said before, not for anything lewd, Raphael."

...

Ugh...

"Okay then..." I trailed off unsurely, unequipping every single article of clothing one by one until I was as naked as the day I was born, which prompted me to quickly submerge myself in the river and shiver at the contact of cold water.

There was no doubt that if I had been without Gamer's Mind or Gamer's Body I would be far too embarrassed to go near these two beauties, as pathetic as that sounds. Back on Earth I didn't actively seek out a romantic relationship, barring the one relationship I had - which hardly lasted for more than a month - but otherwise, I was what one would call 'socially awkward' when it came to women. Although, that has appeared to have changed with my resurrection as one of Gaia's Gamers.

"Raphael, if you find yourself incapable of staying your lustful urges - which I do not blame you for - then leave now and I will assist you with your powers at camp." Katianna crossed her arms over her bust as she sternly spoke, and I caught a brief flash of mischievousness in her purple eyes. "Now, are you staying or leaving?"

With a moment's worth of deliberation later, I responded. "I'll stay Katianna, I'm fully capable of keeping my emotions in check." At least, I hope so, without having anything yet to test Gamer's Mind's resilience I was unaware of its full capabilities.

She nodded, smirking. "Good, well then, come closer Raphael. It wouldn't do for me to teach you with such distance between us, no?" I sighed, and nodded in turn, wading through the water to Katianna and Rosalina with absolutely no clothing equipped felt odd but then again, just being on Terros is odd in of itself. As I came closer though, I noted, both women seemed a bit red in the face and I would never have noticed unless I was close enough for detailed features.

No matter, if I was the reason for it - which was sort of obvious that it was - then I'm quite happy, knowing that I had the attraction of not only Rosalina but Katianna as well. Although with the mention of the former, I noticed that she didn't seem to be jealous, envious, nor any other negative emotion of Katianna, which I'm quite glad for as that meant something might of have happened between them when they were alone together.

"Rosa," I nodded in the aforementioned's direction, receiving a bashful smile in return. "Now, Katianna, what are we going to be doing exactly?"

She coughed into her hand, the small blush already gone. "As you may already know, Lady Seraphine is a peaceful goddess, thus her powers aren't capable of causing harm to anyone but that does not necessarily mean we are not capable of defending ourselves." Understandable, I mean, it'd be ridiculous if Seraphine couldn't protect herself considering that she is a goddess of Terros. "While we cannot inflict harm upon others, we can prevent others from harming us as well to prevent any bloodshed."

"Interesting, how would that work exactly?" It could very well be something like the Peace of Seraphine status effect I had experienced back at the temple, disabling all of my weapons yet increasing both health and mana regeneration.

"While you may not have sensed nor felt it, you experienced such a power at the temple, when we had first met." Aha, I was right! "Said power was responsible for temporarily disabling your weapons during your stay there. However, such an advanced magic power won't be available to you just yet."

"Then what is available for me at the moment?" I inquired, while it was disappointing that I couldn't learn Peace of Seraphine immediately, I could only be patient.

"I will teach you what I've been taught, using my former mentor's training regime that she had used on myself to make me the priestess of Lady Seraphine that I am today." Katianna gestured to herself to indicate so. "As we've both received the same partial amount of Lady Seraphine's powers, the first and easiest would be the ability to communicate with nature." She whistled a small tune, raising her hand, and to my surprise, that same tune was repeated followed by a small bird landing on her outstretched hand.

"It's simple to achieve this really." The bird perched atop her hand preened, and she smiled in amusement. "Using our minds, we can emotionally and mentally be synchronized with our surrounding environment, to be one with the spirits."

The bird fluttered off, and her hand returned to her side. "Now, calm yourself and steady your breathing." Feels like a meditation technique, but I did so nonetheless. "Clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts, and focus in on your surroundings." Taking in a deep breath and closing my eyes, I followed her instructions and listened to my environment - which was somewhat difficult due to being close to a waterfall.

However, as time passed I distinctly became aware of sounds that I never heard at first, as well as 'seeing' things that one would have difficulty finding even if they're actively searching for them such as a mere insect hopping through the grass or a ladybug on the trunk of a tree. It was incredible, to say the least, and while I felt my concentration slipping my new senses still remained sharp enough to pinpoint everything around me.

Opening my eyes, I was greeted with the creation of a new skill - which was likely what I had just practiced.

 **Through a special action a new skill has been created!**

 **(Ecological Empathy) (Active) (Level: 1/50)**

 **Description: Ecological Empathy is the ability to be in synchronization with one's surrounding environment through mental, emotional, and/or physical capabilities. This ability allows one to understand nature, not only that but to see if it is in harmony with the natural order of all things in all biomes such as a forest, desert, or a tundra. Every fall of a leaf, every blade of grass, and the hunting of prey from a predator would be felt which would leave the user calm and/or relieved. Unnaturally however, they would feel sickened as well as nauseous yet with Gamer's Mind this negative effect does not take place.**

 **Effects:  
+Ecological Mental Empathy  
+Ecological Emotional Empathy (Locked - Lvl.25)  
+Ecological Physical Empathy (Locked - Lvl.50)**

...A magic skill, I presume, which is something I noticed to be neglecting - excluding the fact that the Fireball skill was my only offensive magic ability. I also noticed the other notification I had received whilst my eyes were closed.

 **Due to finding an understanding of nature and the development of the arcane arts WIS and INT have increased by 1!**

 **INT (Intelligence): 28** **(150 MP per point) =** ** 29 (150 MP per point)  
** **WIS (Wisdom): 29** **(100 MP regeneration per point)** **= 30 (100 MP regeneration per point)**

 **MP (Mana Points): 4,050/4,050 (2,900 MP regeneration per minute) = 4,200/4,200 (3,000 MP regeneration per minute)**

"Incredible..." I heard Katianna whisper in awe, drawing my attention to her. "It had taken weeks to learn such an ability myself, yet you had done it in mere minutes!" She shook her head in amazement, and I nearly broke eye contact as her bosom bounced at the action. "Goddess only knows how fast you will master it now with sufficient practice, and you had even increased your mana capacity in the process!"

The infinite potential of the Gamer has no limitations nor bounds, Katianna... I absorb everything taught to me like a sponge if I'm right about how it works.

"I've always been a quick learner Katianna." Well, it's somewhat of a half-lie, I've always been a bit above average back on Earth but it's the truth now with the Gamer.

"I see that..." She hummed, tapping a finger on her cheek. "Perhaps I should teach you the next power, but we should be bathing now and the others will likely be worried if we are gone too long, we shall continue this back at camp."

"Right then, I suppose I'll go then?" Turning around, I began to make my way back to the riverbank.

"Where do you think you're going?" Katianna called out, and I froze as I heard the mischievousness in her voice. "I've noticed that you have not seemed to bathe yourself for more than a little over a week, considering that you did not use the temple bathhouse during your stay, as well as that _smell_ when I had slept on your back." Oh fuck me... "Now, come back here and let _us assist you_."

I could only let out a small indiscernible whimper at her words as I turned around and trudged my way back to them. Perhaps this is what they were conversing about before I entered the premises, creating a dastardly plan such as this! Oh woe is me!

I sighed, enough being a drama queen, felt way too odd to be like that for a moment.

"Come stand under here." She waved me over, her body halfway beneath the waterfall. "Rosalina, you shall take his front and I take his back." Oh shit, this is quickly devolving into a rather... sexual situation, I assume based on where this is going right now.

"Rosa, please don't tell me this is going where I think it's going." I pleaded to Rosalina, and she merely smirked as I stood under the waterfall.

Shivering at the cold water splashing against my body, I immediately ignored that as both Rosalina and Katianna pressed their nubile forms against myself, effectively being sandwiched between the two women's breasts. Trying my best not to become immediately aroused at their ministrations, they ran their hands all over me, hopefully just for the intent of scrubbing down my body.

Letting out an unintentional groan, I slapped a hand over my mouth in surprise at the sound, while I would _really_ enjoy this situation but considering the circumstances I'd prefer it if Rosalina and I did this after our wedding - which, to be honest, is going to happen in the future regardless, I just don't know when. Katianna on the other hand, I'm not sure... but with what she's doing right now I'm seriously considering what our relationship is exactly.

I was torn out of my thoughts as I felt Rosalina's hands roam a bit too low for my comfort, and I caught her hands before she could touch down _there_ , and as much as I would've enjoyed it I couldn't simply endorse in sexual activity right now.

"Rosa..." I spoke sternly to her, which was awkward considering our position. " _No_."

She pouted innocently, "But I wasn't going to do anything, I'm just cleaning your body."

Sighing at her words, I shook my head at her. "Rosa, I know what you were going to do, and I won't allow it, not until we're married." She became flustered at that as she pulled away, but I spotted the tinge of happiness in those blue eyes of hers. I noticed that whilst I had spoken with Rosalina, Katianna still had her body pressed up against mine, and I turned my head towards her - spotting the coy look on her face. "Katianna, you can stop now."

She cooed, "...Very well then, there's no point to it now that Rosalina has ceased, you stopped my plan before it could come to fruition." Is that what they were talking about before? It's a bit odd for Katianna to come up with such a thing, but I can probably expect her to do things like this in the future as well. "I apologize Raphael." She bowed her head, before meeting my eyes, and I could still see the mischievousness in her purple eyes. "At the very least, we cleaned your body." Well, there's no denying that...

"Yeah, I'll go now." It was just plain awkward, standing between two naked and curvaceous women after their attempts to woo me, and I began to make my way back to the riverbank after Katianna detached herself from me. "I'll see you two back at camp."

I received no response, but I didn't expect one, not after what had just happened. I'm not mad at them, definitely not, just merely overwhelmed at their sudden actions as I expected something like that to come from Rosalina, but certainly not Katianna. Re-equipping my clothing the moment I had stepped back on riverbank I began to tread through the forest, retracing my steps back to the camp with my hair still soaked with water.

The sight I was greeted with was not of Rhea and Hal stoking the flames, but rather, the aforementioned and the Recon Marines loosely surrounding a pair of haggardly dressed men kneeling on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Narrowing my eyes at the sight of - what I can assume were - their blades discarded onto the grass and away from them, it was likely that they did not have benevolent intentions.

"Rhea, what's going on and who're these two?" I inquired immediately, there were far too many surprises for today, and it's starting to become annoying.

"These two..." She gestured towards the kneeling men with her sword, causing a scare. "Are bandits, they have been following us until they were spotted by your companions, which is quite fortunate as I would've never seen them in this darkness." Thank goodness for their NVG then, who knows what would've happened if they decided to attack at night where we would best our most vulnerable.

"P-Please! We meant no harm!" One of them pleaded, an oily-faced one with greasy brown hair, not a truly notable person. "L-Let us go, we'll never b-bother you again, w-we swear!"

I spoke before Rhea could, "Tell me, why were you two following us?"

"W-We uh-" He stuttered, and I glared at him for his hesitance, and he cowered.

 **Through a special action, a skill has been relearned!**

 **(Intimidation) (Active/Passive) (Level: 23/100)**

 **Description: Intimidation is an ability that has the capability of cowing any being into submission before you, utilizing it to extract information or to merely prevent persons from fighting against you or your allies. From forcing one person up to hundreds of people to be intimidated depending on appearance and the level of the skill, Intimidation can be fused with certain skill to amplify its effects, but it should be noted that it cannot affect those who're of higher level than the user nor can it fully affect other Gamers due to Gamer's Mind being the main factor.**

 **Effects:  
+23% To Intimidation (x2 effect per 25 levels below user)  
+Appearance Amplification (Dependent on outside psychological view of target)**

Wonderful, relearned a skill that nearly is a quarter of the way at its level cap, and while I shouldn't complain I suppose I should be grateful for my imposing height back on Earth. Nevertheless, did I actually cow these bandits into submission is the question.

" _Speak_." I hissed at them, utilizing Intimidation now that it was an active ability.

"O-Okay! I-I'll talk! Just don't kill me!" The man weeped, and his compatriot shared his sentiments, self-preservation fully overtaking them. Ah, if only things were as simple as this, but alas the two men were weak-willed and it's quite easy to extract information from such individuals.

First off, "Who do you work for?" It's a possibility that they could be a part of the rest of the bandit group that Hal and myself cleared out in Kyros - barring that one bandit that managed to escape, likely informing his friends of the situation.

"W-We serve Lord Kilun!" Well, that was a stupid question, I don't even know who this 'Lord Kilun' is, and I turned to Rhea for any answers but she looked as clueless as I was. I'll just reiterate my question then.

"What do you know of the village of Kyros?" Both men hesitated and I narrowed my eyes at them for said hesitation. "Speak you utter disgraces of humanity, lest I kill you for being cutthroats alone."

"L-Lord Kilun would have our heads if we sp-!" I cut him off by brutally grabbing him by his throat.

" _If you don't talk right now, you'll have a lot more to worry about than your Lord Kilun having your heads._ " I whispered harshly into his ear and he whimpered, look at that, Intimidation went up a level.

"K-Kyros was a target of a r-raiding party led by Dalor Nilus!" Barely remember the man, but I do remember killing him. "I-It was supposed to be an easy target for slaves, u-until only o-one of the raiding party came b-back telling of two w-weirdly dressed men w-with metal rods that s-spat fire and an a-archer whose aim was true." Damn, really starting to hate not killing that one escapee, although with the information presented to me it was clear that these men worked indirectly alongside the bandits that attacked Kyros. Not to mention that they planned to _enslave_ them, disgusting, and I scowled at the thought of innocent people being forced into such a thing, Gaia-forbid the thought of Rosalina becoming a slave!

"W-We were following you, with you b-being weirdly dressed along with t-the archer in the party!" The man continued, his stuttering was starting to become incredibly annoying. "P-Please let us go! W-We swear that we w-won't tell Lord Kilun a-about you!" I snorted derisively at that, as if I would ever let them go, especially not after discovering their use of slavery.

Still though, one more question would do. "We're not done yet as I have one more question, tell me, how many of you are there?" I'd like to know what I'm up against at the very least.

"I-I don't know! There's at least a h-hundred of us!" Hmm, I would've been worried had it not been for the fact that they all use medieval weaponry instead of firearms, now _that_ , would be a nightmare. "Will you l-let us go now?"

"Well, you see, there's a problem with that." I drawled, causing the two to pale. "I won't be letting you go as your word means absolutely nothing to me, considering your statuses as bandits, and you two would be nothing more than a liability if I release the both of you and staying with us is out of the question." Both of them came to a sudden realization at my words, and they began bawling like children. "I'll make your deaths quick and painless." Granting them a quick death is the best I can do for their ilk as I was sadistic enough as it is, may they find forgiveness in whatever afterlife they believe in.

I brought out Caerulus Mors, the sudden appearance of the saber terrified the two bandits, as their sobs seemed to intensify. Raising the blade over my head as I stepped to their side, their begging for mercy made it all the more difficult, but there was an untold amount of people they may have robbed of their livelihoods in all their banditry.

"Please! Spare us!"

...

Sighing, I lowered Caerulus Mors, I couldn't find it in me to simply execute the two based on my own accusations. For all I know, they could've been pressed into banditry, or perhaps were forced to resort to banditry to feed their own families. However, I wouldn't let them go, no, I'd hand them over to the proper authorities to handle - even if the sentence for most crimes in a medieval era were borderline inhumane treatments by modern standards, but at the very least they would be granted a trial.

Looking upon their grateful expressions, I couldn't help but pity them for they had no idea of what I was going to do with them, but I suppose a few more days of living is better than being killed outright. I spun around as I heard a twig snap, both Katianna and Rosalina emerging into the clearing with their clothing clinging tightly to their forms. Katianna seemed curious, it appeared, as she approached us with Rosalina in tow and I was relieved it wasn't another bandit.

"Who are these two, Raphael?" She asked, brushing a stray strand of her blonde hair from her face, apparently ignoring what had happened back at the river.

"These two 'gentlemen' are bandits." I spoke with heavy emphasis on 'gentlemen', Katianna gasped at that whilst Rosalina grew a look of immense hatred I thought she would never be capable of directed at the two men. Although I would expect such an emotion from her, considering Kyros was raided by bandits which resulted in the loss of her last relative along with who knows how many of her friends, I'll need to make her keep her distance from the two.

"What are you going to do with them?" Katianna inquired and Rosalina merely kept glaring at them.

I sighed at that, scratching my head. "Well, originally I was going to execute them, but I decided to take them prisoner instead and hand them over to the authorities in the capital once we get there." I slapped both of the bandits upside the head as I saw that they were ogling Katianna's and Rosalina's bodies with lust, I scowled. "They'll be tied up for the rest of the journey."

"What will be done with them for tonight?" Katianna walked over until she stood in front of the two, appearing to be peering down at them as if they were beneath her - which they technically were considering her status and level. "Surely they will not be allowed to roam about freely?"

"Of course not, aside from the few exceptions, they'll be restrained permanently until we reach the capital." I gently placed a hand on her shoulder to soothe any worries. "Don't fret about it, they'll be under watch."

"...Very well Raphael, I trust you in that their ability to cause any harm will be restricted." She nodded at me, before walking away without so much as a passing glance at the kneeling bandits.

With my gaze lingering upon Katianna for a few seconds more, I turned towards Rosalina. "Rosa, it'd be best for you to stay away from these two, don't even come close to them or look at them - just, ignore them."

She harrumphed at that, looking at the bandits with disdain before she too walked away like Katianna did, and I couldn't help but be relieved that she didn't try to enact any revenge on them. Seeing that there was nothing else to be done, I simply waved Hal over to have him gather any material that would work as a bind for both their hands and legs. They'd be given very little food and water, it'd be no point to give them resources that we could use ourselves, especially not when they'll be handed over to Furorean authorities as soon as we enter the capital.

Fortunately, as Hal came back, he brought with him several long pieces of rope that appeared to have been left behind by previous users of the clearing and he used that to expertly tie their hands and legs together with little resistance from the two men. After that, I had him place the bandits against a tree at the very edge of the clearing where they would be watched by one of the Recon Marines.

With that taken care of, I turned to go and speak with Rosalina, but was halted by Rhea stepping in my way.

"Raphael, before you go to Lady Nix and Rosalina, I have to say that while I disapprove of your actions in interrogating those bandits we still need to speak about what had happened with the daemon, and you _will_ explain to me why it had happened." I see, however I still do not regret telling her, but perhaps I should deal with it now rather than later.

"Rhea, I might as well explain now." She tilted her head at my words, which I took as a response to continue. "The daemon was attracted to me because of..." I paused, I couldn't tell Rhea of the Gamer, and it was a secret that I wouldn't display to the world freely, only with those I truly trusted. "...Gaia, the goddess that I worship." That was partially the truth, as I suppose Gaia was technically responsible for the R.A.S.

At her incredulous expression, I elaborated. "Gaia tends to... test her chosen, but don't worry. I can assure you that another daemon won't come after me again, and if one does, I can only hope that by that time I'll be powerful enough to take it on."

"...Words cannot express how I feel about this... Gaia's treatment of her worshipers, and you are Lady Seraphine's champion as well?" I can understand that, one would see Gaia's treatment of her Gamers as cruel, but I see it as a way for us to adapt and survive.

"I can worship two goddesses, can I not?" I don't exactly worship either, but considering I received powers from both deities - of vast differing power - it can be said that I worship them in my own way with the occasional mention of their names, although that isn't worship at all it's better than nothing.

"You can... it's merely uncommon for most people to worship multiple divine beings." She hummed, rubbing her chin. "Then again, you are not most people, and I suppose I cannot blame you for the actions of your goddess Raphael, forgive me."

"It's fine Rhea, there's nothing to forgive, I can understand your concerns." I waved off her apology, as it was unnecessary. "Are we done here?"

"Yes, I'll leave you to your business." She nodded, stepping aside for me.

Seeing that there was nothing else obstructing me from speaking with Rosalina, I strode forth, passing by the blazing fire that Rhea and Hal created. Rosalina was in the middle of setting up her bedroll, something that she was fortunate to have brought with her, as everybody else in my party didn't bring anything with us from the temple, including myself.

"Rosa, are you okay?" She hummed, unsure. "I understand that you're mad at the bandits, but you'll have to tolerate them only temporarily."

" _Why didn't you just kill them_?" She muttered, and I blinked in surprise at her words, she had a hateful expression present. "You know how much I hate their _kind_." I... don't actually, but I'll go along with it.

"Rosa, please, just have patience, they'll be gone faster than you can imagine."

"... _Fine_ , doesn't mean I have to like it though."

Hopefully Rosalina's grudge won't incite her to do anything daring to them, and the fact that she has a USP that I gifted to her doesn't make it any easier. Seeing nothing more to be done I pecked her on the cheek, and much to my amusement, she became flustered. With business settled with Rosalina for now, I suppose I should speak with Katianna for a bit, seeing as there was nothing more to be done around the clearing, that and I needed some answers from her.

I caught said priestess in the middle of creating a makeshift bedroll. "You need some help there Katianna?"

"No, I can handle this Raphael, there's no need for you to assist me." She waved away my offer of help. "I am fully capable of doing this on my own."

After her words, Katianna continued to create her bedroll, and all I could do was merely watch her create a makeshift bedroll out of leaves and remnants of the previous people's camps in the clearing. To say that I was amazed was an understatement at her abilities to create something out of nothing, if anything she'd make a wonderful survivalist if she was ever left to her own devices.

Within minutes, she created a fully functional bedroll of her size, made out of leaves, cloth, and some other material that wasn't from nature itself and I couldn't help but admire her for such a skill as she laid it near the fire.

"Katianna, I have to say, your survivalist skills are phenomenal." I'd take an hour or so to make something even remotely similar to her creation, and that's if I don't try to make it stabilized.

She seemed coy at my words, "Thank you Raphael, having lived a long life, being idle is something that I haven't been in quite some time..." There's that as well, her status as a priestess for Seraphine made her immortal- well, wrong choice of words, she's ageless but she can still be killed just like any other fleshy human. "Would you like for me to create one for you as well?"

"I'd appreciate that Katianna." I nodded gratefully in her direction, and smirked.

"However, there is not enough around here for me to create another bedroll, let alone one for your size." ...What? "That does not mean I'm unwilling to share my comfort with you, unless you prefer to sleep with Rosalina?" She scooted over, making space.

"Er, thanks for the offer Katianna, but I'd prefer to share bedding with Rosa, and I have some questions for you." She pouted, but nodded nonetheless. "Can you tell me why you were acting so... _perverse_ back at the river?"

She raised a brow as she spoke, "Why Raphael, I wasn't being perverted at all. It isn't wrong to have an attraction to a man, is it?" Whoa, that's a bit sudden there...

Nonetheless, I suppose I should be happy that she returned my feelings, even if she wasn't aware of them in the first place(?). "...I'm not sure that you should press your nude body to someone you have an attraction to, especially to someone you just recently met." Still, it hasn't even been two weeks and I've already received the eyes of two - potentially more than that - women of insurmountable beauty vying for my 'love' - I think - and it certainly does not help that I'm returning those feelings.

"Yes, I will admit that it was a bit bold of me to do so, and I am embarrassed to admit it but for all the experience that I have gained during my long life, I am still so utterly inexperienced in these _feelings_ I possess." She seemed a bit downtrodden at that, and it seemed a bit ridiculous to be that way for something trivial. "However, inexperienced as I am, I wouldn't have ever gone that far as I know that something influenced me at the river to take such... perverse actions."

Oh, really now? Then again, that 'influence' could've been the Gamer as it does seem to affect things on a massive scale, influencing an individual like Katianna would be far too easy for it - or Gaia, I'm unsure about that bit. There's also the possibility that it was divine intervention, it could've been Seraphine or some other deity that Terros has, but the former was unlikely but it was also unlikely that another deity could interfere in Seraphine's sphere of influence unless it was a greater being - I'm assuming - than her. Considering that I'm unaware of any other entities and/or deities, Gaia is at the top of the list of possibly causes.

"I see, I apologize for accusing you of such lewd acts that you weren't directly responsible for." I internally shivered, I was momentarily concerned that Katianna was actually a closet pervert. "Still, it is a cause for concern if someone of your capabilities was influenced."

"Do not fret Raphael, whatever was influencing me is no longer present." That's a relief, but it's still quite worrying. "Your apology is unneeded."

I sighed at that, I suppose I shouldn't be stressing over it but I'll need to be more aware of the smaller details to see if any of the party should become under influence. Nevertheless, I stepped forward and kneeled down to get closer to Katianna's level, examining her with a scrutinizing gaze as I leaned in and she reddened slightly at how close I was. Searching those purple eyes of her for any sign of deception, I found none, anything that would bring up a cause for concern clearly wasn't there or possibly simply well-hidden.

"R-Raphael, what are you doing?" I blinked at her words, before leaning back, rubbing my chin.

"Nothing, I was just curious of something, don't worry about it." I waved my hand dismissively.

"...V-Very well then Raphael, if you have any further questions, ask."

I hummed, "...I believe that's all for now Katianna, just get some rest, we have several more days-worth of walking ahead of us." Some form of transport would be incredibly helpful right now, and it would at least cut down our travel time by half with our current pace - added with the two new prisoners.

Katianna perked up at my words, "Well, I do have a solution for that as I can acquire some faster mode of travel for us to go on, when one lives as long as I have you would have a plethora of contacts." I would assume so. "However, we'll talk about this further in the morning, I must rest as you've said." That damned mischievous look was in her eyes again as she laid back down on her makeshift bedroll, clearly enjoying herself.

I sighed, even if everything is seemingly back to normal - what counts as normal at least for Terros - I'd best stay wary at all times, being paranoid can be a good thing at times. Besides, I trust in the Recon Marines to keep us safe throughout the night, as I highly doubt anything can override my command over Hal and those two but one can never be too careful because I'd be sleeping with my M1911 in hand throughout the night, or with it next to me at least.

Marching back over to Rosalina, it appeared she wasn't much too angry anymore, and I was glad that she had calmed down a bit. With her grudge, it'd be all too easy for her to simply kill the two bandits in the middle of the night, and even if I weren't close to stop her, she'd be caught by the Recon Marines.

"Rosa, I see you're feeling much better." Smiling at her, she returned it with a small one of her own. "Mind if I sleep with you for the night?" I winced, that was... a bit too straightforward as I watch Rosalina become as red as a tomato. "N-Not like that, Rosa, get your mind out of the gutter."

"O-Oh, _sorry_." She muttered, looking away, trying - and failing - to hide her flustered expression as she moved over slightly to the side, making room for me.

Unequipping the kevlar and boots I had on, I made myself comfortable in the exceedingly large bedroll, laying next to Rosalina - seeming content as she wrapped her arms around my side, nuzzling into my shoulder with affection. It was heartwarming, it truly was, I noted as I wrapped my arm around her while pulling up the fur blanket up over us. The flames of the campfire were dying out, devolving into nothing more than cinders, plunging the clearing into darkness.

It wasn't long until I became sleep-ridden, and by then, Rosalina was already lost in the dreamworld. I figured to use Ecological Empathy one more time, sending out a pulse that felt every nook and cranny of the clearing and the surrounding forest for about several dozen meters. Feeling that nothing was wrong - according to Ecological Empathy at least - I allowed the darkness to consume me, sending myself into another dreamless night.

* * *

 **(One Rest Night Later~)  
**

 **You have slept on a semi-comfortable surface!  
80% of all HP and MP are recovered! Minor and Most Major Negative Status Effects removed!**

...I was right, another dreamless night, no visit from Seraphine or any other deity appeared to have happen.

Dawn broke over the clearing, lighting mostly everything up and I was surprised to see that I wasn't actually the first one up. Katianna was on her knees, her hood covering her features once more as she muttered prayers to Seraphine with her hands clapped together.

Slowly easing myself out of the hold that Rosalina had me in, which inevitably caused her to grumble in her sleep for a moment at my movements, I managed to get out nonetheless. After throwing the fur blanket back over Rosalina, I turned towards Katianna, walking and then waiting for her to finish her prayers.

After several minutes of her still praying, she stood, and as she turned around she reeled back in surprise at the sight of me.

"Raphael!" I winced at the volume at which she said my name, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, before speaking in a hushed tone. " _I'm surprised you're awake this early in the morning._ "

"I'm actually surprised that YOU are awake, Katianna." I made no effort to lower the volume of my voice, seeing it to be pointless, and it appeared that Katianna saw it that way as well as she resumed speaking normally.

"I've always woken up far earlier than everyone else to do my daily prayers for Lady Seraphine." She spoke, and I heard quite a lot of respect in her words, she's no doubt a devout worshiper - which was pretty much in the job description for her. "It's something that I do instinctually since I've been doing it everyday for many years."

"Still though, I thought you would've been tired still considering you spent a hefty amount of your energy back at the temple." I hummed, and she shrugged. "Anyhow, about that contact of yours that can 'acquire' us some transportation?"

"Of course, if we're where I think we are, then it's merely half a day's worth of travel to meet my contact if we kept to our current pace." She said thoughtfully, tapping a finger on her chin. "Once we get there, we'll have lunch since it seems we have skipped a meal last night, I recommend that we begin traveling as soon as possible so skipping breakfast is a must." Huh, I forgot about that.

"Aren't you hungry at all though?" I inquired, I'm curious to know if her body's need for sustenance is different from a plain human, somewhat like Gamer's Body turning food and drink into something that is merely a luxury.

She shook her head, "No, both Rhea and I can last without food for quite some time, due to Lady Seraphine's blessing, our bodies are enhanced beyond that of a regular human one. However, I cannot say the same for Rosalina, who must no doubt be starving." Ah, shit.

Rosalina was as normal as any other person, and I grimaced as I soon realized that she was easily the one most prone to suffer from a illness or injury in our party. Even if she is slightly stronger than the average person, that's all she is, merely above average and that is a serious concern where magic and gods exist - the latter being known to cause suffering for mortals due to their actions that inadvertently kill hundreds by 'accident'. A single days-worth of firearms training and Krav Maga training is nothing, also considering that I've had very little time to train her or myself cause of our constant traveling it'd be best to resolve this once we get to the capital.

"You're right, and we need to shave off as much time as possible, so we'll have to make haste." I affirmed, and Katianna nodded.

"I shall go wake Rhea, and I trust that you will do the same for Rosalina?"

"Of course."

With that, we both went our separate ways to rouse the others from their sleep, and I honestly found the sight of the way Rosalina was sleeping to be adorable. It appeared that after I had escaped from her hold, and with nothing to grasp onto, she spread herself all over the bedroll with her black hair sprawled beneath her as she lightly drooled. I would've been more than content to allow her to continue sleeping but time's a wasting.

Kneeling down, I reached out and gently shook her shoulder. "Rosa, it's time to get up..."

She moaned, turning onto her side and away from me, waving a hand to shoo me away. " _Five more minutes..._ " She mumbled.

"Rosa, come now, if you won't get up I won't carry you today." I threatened playfully, and I chuckled at her groan.

" _Fine_ ~" She bemoaned, slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. " _It's so early_..."

"Sorry Rosa, but Katianna and I had decided to start traveling early today, but you don't need to worry about that with me carrying you around, eh?" I jested, and she pouted at me.

"I can walk!" She shot, and I gave a small laugh. "It's just... _comfortable_ , to ride on your back!"

"Sure Rosa, whatever you say, let's just get ready." I held out a hand, which she grabbed, allowing me to lift her back onto her feet with a small pull. "Here, let me help you with your bedroll."

First making her bedroll then rolling it up, I handed it over to her to bundle up, keeping it tied together before she placed it on her back. Despite being a bit disheveled and weary, she was still as beautiful as ever, I still should offer her to ride on my back though, considering that she is quite vulnerable right now - I'm assuming that is, but I will not allow any harm to be inflicted upon her.

"You actually going to walk, or would you prefer to continue having a free ride?" I asked her, amused.

"I-I'll walk, I don't want to burden you anymore." She hesitantly said at first, and I couldn't help but let out a small smile, something that she mock-glared at me for.

"Of course Rosa, shall we go see if the others are ready?" Offering a hand to her in a gentleman-like fashion that caused her to drop the mock-glare, she accepted.

With both her bag and bedroll present, I led her towards Katianna and the now-awake Rhea, the latter of whom looking wide awake as she held her helmet to the side. I expected nothing less from the Huscarl as she has shown some feats that would be considered superhuman, like jumping off a fifty foot wall. Something like sleep is probably considered trivial for her, as it is for me, but I digress, I'm comparing quite a lot of things with the Gamer.

"Katianna, Rhea," I nodded at the two, the latter returning the action and the former merely smiling. "Are we ready to move?"

Hal had already taken the initiative, I noted, as I saw him up and about with our two prisoners in front of him - both bandits being gagged as well! The Recon Marines were still on opposite ends of the clearing, ever vigilant until we leave. Again, a reminder to myself to acquire more forces from the Hub, loyalty such as Hal's and the Recon Marine's is something to absolutely have.

"Yes, and hopefully it will take less than half a day if we increased our pace, even if just for a small bit." Katianna answered, whilst Rhea remained silent. "Your companions are oddly silent and loyal to you Raphael, but I have yet to see them take an order from you, and already they are ready to move as we are." Her suspicion was warranted, I will admit considering that the three companions always seemed to know what I needed or wanted on a certain level.

"Yes, they're always prepared for whatever plan I may have, this included it seems." Katianna merely hummed at that. "Let's get going Katianna, you wanted to start early, did you not?"

She huffed, "I merely recommended it, but yes, let us go." Since neither of them actually brought anything with them aside from what they already had on hand from the temple, they didn't need to pack things up unlike Rosalina, effectively shaving off some time.

"Hal, watch our prisoners, and if they try anything then execute them." I ordered him, and the man nodded - much to the aforementioned two's panicked and muffled cries. "Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, fall in."

I'll take no chances with the bandits, even if I may have granted them mercy, it's likely that if they succeed at escaping - as impossible as it is with our current weapons - then they'll go straight to this Lord Kilun with information on us. The less people that know about me the better, not until I introduce myself to Furore's nobility, offering to assist them in the war.

Seeing nothing else to be said, our party set out with Katianna taking the lead with Rosalina's map in hand, leading us to her 'contact' for transport. Rosalina actually decided to have her USP out, thankfully without her finger over the trigger, and the safety was set. Wouldn't want any misfires coming from her, even those who've never handled a gun yet, they've at least seen enough of it in movies to know at least how to treat a firearm - albeit somewhat wrong bits of it but far better than any experience that Rosalina has with them.

As we followed one of the roads of the kingdom I just realized, I have absolutely no idea as to how to ride a horse.

* * *

 **(Approximately Half A Day Later~** **)**

AGI went up once more today, a single point, but it is improvement nonetheless.

Considering that the sun shone above, it's midday, and Katianna had said we were close as we passed by several significant landmarks that were also on the map. She didn't elaborate on who or what the contact was, but all she merely said was that they were quite reliable. Trying to gleam anymore information from her was fruitless, so we walked for several hours in a somewhat-comfortable silence in a nice temperature setting.

However, it wasn't till long that she spoke up, "I believe it is right..." She paused, studying the map, before she abruptly stopped in the middle of the path. "Here!"

She turned left, and I imitated her actions and stared into the forest beside the road we traveled upon, and I saw nothing of note aside from the exotic-looking plants that Terros seemed to have. As I was about to question Katianna as to where her contact was, she cut me off.

"They're within this forest, follow me." She began marching forward, Rhea following after a moment later, and after a brief second of hesitation I went after them with Rosalina and my companions in tow.

The visibility in the forest was absolutely horrible, and I could just barely make out the forms of Katianna and Rhea ahead of me, thus I began to pour just a bit more focus into my senses and sensory skills. Ecological Empathy gave no sign of anything out of its natural state, and Danger Sense didn't ping anything that would cause harm, but the silence - aside from the sound of our footfalls - left me wary.

However, that wariness of mine diminished as I saw the blaring light that was between the bodies of Katianna and Rhea, indicating that we reached the other end of the forest or the edge of a clearing. In less than a few seconds I emerged on the other end after the two Pillars of Seraphine. The sight I was greeted with was something akin to a primitive small one-story house attached to a stable that held a dozen or so horses, the entirety of the property cordoned off by fence posts.

It seemed like a nice quaint little place, isolated from the rest of the kingdom.

Katianna hummed, "He should be here, but he won't mind if we step onto his property, come along now." She made her way over to a gate, opening it and stepping onto the property without a care in the world.

Again, following after her, I noticed the symbol burned into one of the fence posts holding the gate together. It was that of a simple black dragon, looking quite similar to one someone would use as a common tattoo. Assuming that it was nothing, I merely gave it a simple glance before drawing my attention back to my front.

"Halt!" I froze at the command, tensing and drawing forth Crowd Control and my M1911, going for a defensive maneuver since there was nothing to take cover behind for several meters. "Who goes the-! Ah, Katianna! Is that you?" Wait-what?

Peeking over Crowd Control, I relaxed - but still remained wary - at the sight of a wizened old man, one who looks far too old to be any threat to anyone. In one hand he held a cane that he hunched over to keep himself up, in the other hand was a dagger that he lowered at his side. He wore a brown tunic that has seen better days, and a pair of trousers that clearly need patching up. Although I have to admire his white beard that was quite long, reaching past below his neck but that was the only sign of hair on his head as he was bald.

"Crayne, my old friend! It is good to see you again." Katianna greeted cheerfully.

The man laughed, before coughing and wheezing, holding a hand to his mouth. "S-So what brings you to my humble abode?"

"What? A girl can't visit an old friend?" Katianna jested, and the man snorted.

"Not unless you're in the same line of work as I am, then no." Line of work? "As a servant for the Mercator Organization, I do not often get visits for just the purpose of speaking with an old friend Katianna, I can tell that you require something of me." He drawled, stroking his beard.

"Ah, you caught me..." She sighed. "I'm here to acquire horses for my friends here." She gestured to us, and Crayne hummed.

"I figured... since that is what the main purpose of this outpost is." The man sighed disappointedly. "I suppose you want to count this as me repaying you and hand you a few of my horses?"

"Yes, and... can you provide food for my friend here?" She gestured to Rosalina, and the latter blushed in embarrassment as her stomach rumbled conveniently at the time Katianna had spoke.

"Hnh, very well, I can do that." The man coughed, "I'll package it with her horse."

"Thank you Crayne." Katianna bowed her head gratefully.

"Of course, head to the stables and get what you need, while I gather food for your friend." He spun around, heading into his home.

That was an interesting conversation, to say the least. I'm curious as to what the Mercator Organization is but I wouldn't want to intrude, and all I can be is thankful for the horses and food that he is providing for us. Nonetheless, I followed Katianna towards the stables where I heard the whinnies of horses, where there were at least two dozen horses of different varieties. Katianna and Rhea chose one of their own immediately, my companions also choosing theirs soon thereafter, and Rosalina decided that she wanted to ride with me.

"Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, take one prisoner with you on your horses and watch them." I instructed, figuring it to be better to have those two handle them on our horses, and the Recon Marines nodded - both of them taking one bandit with them.

My own horse was one with a white mane, and it neighed as I placed a hand on it. Fortunately, there was already a saddle attached to it, and I had Rosalina place her things on its back. Crayne eventually came back as well, carrying with him a sack of what I can assume is food, spotting and handing it over to Rosalina with nary a word exchanged between them.

Crayne turned towards Katianna, and I didn't hear any of the words exchanged between them, but I raised a brow as he turned towards me, handing over a black coin with the very same black dragon logo that was on the fence post.

At my questioning look, he answered. "Katianna had said you might need this, as you might do further business with Mercator." Hm, I suppose I'll figure its use out later.

"Thank you." I nodded at him as I mounted my horse, and he waved his hand in dismissal.

"Think nothing of it, I'm merely repaying Katianna." It must've been quite the favor. "Now, I believe it is time for all of you to leave?"

"Farewell Crayne, may we meet again." Katianna said her goodbyes as she pulled on the reins of her horse, one with a brown mane.

"Goodbye." He merely said, opening up the stable doors fully, opening up the path that seemed to go straight through the forest.

As Rosalina wrapped her arms around my waist, I very nearly fell off my horse - whom I'll name Constable for now - when it began its gait. Surprisingly, I didn't receive a skill for horse-riding, or just riding in general but I suppose it is a trivial skill since I can assume most Gamers don't ride horses or some other animal. With the prisoners in check, and everything going normal for now, I'll just enjoy this horse ride for the rest of the journey.

With Constable trotting through the forest alongside the others, we emerged back onto the path that we were originally on, resuming our journey whilst I fiddled with the black coin in my hand - wondering what its purpose was exactly. Perhaps it is currency or it's some form of confirmation to do business with the 'Mercator Organization'? Never mind that, I'll find out the use once I encounter one of their workers, eventually.

...

...To the capital we go!

* * *

 **AN: Damn, this is by far the most amount of time I've been inactive with this story. Although updates will be slow considering school just started back up, and that unfortunately means less time for me to type up new chapters. However, as I've said before I won't abandon it, but considering school and the fact that I'm going to be moving soon - meaning that I'll have no access to my computer - then updates will be at its slowest during this time.**

 **Here's a small extra for those of you who aren't satisfied.**

* * *

 _The Beginning  
Aurelius Oura, Demigod Son of E'Lesi_

 _Part 1_

 _Many are ignorant of the creation of the very world that we stand upon, yet I do not fault them for their ignorance as the gods themselves have not disclosed such information with us mortals, it is only thanks to my father that I have gleamed such knowledge to spread to all._

 _..._

 _Terros was once a world that would have killed any mortal living on most parts of its surface, an inhospitable wasteland would be one way to describe it, yet beings that have long since passed lived and ruled over the lands - not that there was anything truly noteworthy to rule over. These beings were called by my father, the 'Ancients' or 'Ancient Ones' since they predate the gods themselves, none aside from themselves knowing how long they've lived._

 _However, the few hospitable areas that the mortals lived upon were ruled over by the Ancients, bringing upon them an eternal life of despair under their watch. Yet few have not given up hope, for they believed that they will one day be freed from their terrible lives. That hope combined and gave birth to the very first gods, worshipped today as the High Gods, and with their birth came a war unlike any other between the first gods and the Ancient Ones. Father has said that their battles shook the very lands, destroying mountains and creating oceans of blood in their wake, the war lasted for millennia on end with a stalemate._

 _It should be noted that the Ancient Ones were numbered far less than the gods, the former have several hundred whilst the latter had thousands, yet even with superior numbers the war could not simply be won. It is only thanks to the combining of the gods that they managed to tip the scales, fused into twenty-four entities of unimaginable power that ended Ancients with simple flicks of the wrist, turning the stalemate into a one-sided battle that became a pyrrhic victory due to the heavy loss of most of the first gods in their fusion._

 _During the final battle, the High God N'Eila was responsible for sealing away the final Ancient One, the king that couldn't be killed, forcing him into an endless slumber as their rule came to a gruesome end at the hands of the High Gods._

 _Even with the victory of the High Gods, the mortals were caught in between their war, greatly diminishing their numbers until only a few hundred remained. Greatly shocked by their actions, the High Gods took responsibility, no longer using their prowess for war, but to give life._

 _This gave birth to Humanity, Elves, Angelians, Drakken, Tauren, and numerous races that roam Terros today._

 _This was known as the Age of Life..._


	9. Arc 1: Town, Champion, Journey's End

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may be inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - Continent of Janus - Kingdom of Furore - ?)  
(Raphael's POV - Several Hours Later)**

We were going much faster, but we did take a few breaks to allow the horses to recover and replenish their energy after forcing them to continue their gait for several hours. There was also the opportunity to enter several towns that we had passed by, that is if the towns were still standing considering that we were relying heavily upon our map, but the possibility of entering Perrosian-controlled towns made us shy away from them entirely.

Thus, we relied upon nature to grant us what we needed for survival, merely firewood and the occasional animal that was to be hunted down for food - just for Rosalina, to be exact.

With the mention of Rosalina, I briefly glanced back to see the woman nibbling on a piece of bread that had butter smeared over it, both the bread and butter being provided by the sack Crayne had given her. While I'm glad that she's getting the food that she so dearly needed, it'd be best if she preserved the food she received from Crayne and eat what is hunted considering that meat isn't so easily preservable.

Nonetheless, I am not one to tell her what to do with her food, she isn't a child for Gaia's sake. Although I am wondering why she had not taken up her own horse and chose to ride with me instead - which was a poor choice considering I nearly fell off Constable several times, almost taking Rosalina down with me too - perhaps she doesn't know how to ride a horse as well?

"Raphael!" I blinked, before turning to Katianna, whom yelled over the sound of the horses trampling over the dirt path. "We are about to pass another town, do you want to finally stop?"

Well, even if Rosalina was the only one to actually need food on a regular basis, Katianna and Rhea will still need their eventual share. After a review of the map, it was the only town for several miles until the next sign of civilization - a military outpost to be exact - and we can't rely on hunting forever. It's decided then, we'll make a stop at the town, and perhaps we'll find an inn considering it's almost dark already and I'd like to see a legitimate inn, and we did manage to cover at least over double what would have been our walking speed.

"Yes!" I replied in the same volume of voice that she had spoken to me with. "We'll make a stop there for the night and continue onwards tomorrow!"

"Very well!"

...Shit.

Now that I think about it, I don't even know what the currency is for Terros, I know for sure that they surely don't accept the apparent digital currency of what Gamers use. I'm not even sure if I can take it out and into physical form, and I certainly know that Katianna and Rhea have no form of money on them considering their clothing has no sign of pockets or simply too provocative, respectively.

Still, I must at least try and take the money I have on hand in my inventory out, at least that will provide some answers. Using one hand to hold onto the reigns of Constable I used the other to reach into my inventory to take a hold of - what I think is - my money. It felt odd to hold to say the least as it felt like several different shapes all at once was being shoved into my hand, perhaps the currency that we use is constantly changing, which could also mean that it's malleable.

Wrapping around it, I blinked as I received a notification.

 **[Transform Currency into Terros Coins?]  
[Exchange $10]  
** **[Y/N]**

This is wonderful, although I do wonder what the equivalent of ten of my funds is on Terros, but I'll never know unless I try as I tapped **[Y]**. Just as I pulled the money out of my inventory, it took upon a final shape in the form of a coin, a silver one to be exact. The symbol of a horse on its hind legs was present, surrounded by what looks like flames, interesting design choice for a coin.

"Raphael..." Rosalina gasped from behind me, "I-Is that a silver coin?"

"It is, why do you ask?" Has she never seen one before?

"It's just... I've only seen copper coins, never a silver one, let alone a gold coin." She muttered, a bit sadly I might add.

"Here, you can hold it." I offered it to her over my shoulder, and I felt it immediately disappear from my hand, briefly feeling her soft hands touch my own.

Hm, so I can assume a single copper coin is easily worth a tenth of a silver coin, but then again I could be wrong and it'd be worth a twentieth of a silver. I'd have to experiment further with this new system once we reach the town, seeing as I have the money to spare it.

It seemed like Rosalina wasn't going to be giving back the silver anytime soon as we neared the town, but I decided to let her keep it, I'd want her to enjoy luxuries that she didn't have before I came into her life. Besides, I could always take out more, as I doubt anything that I buy locally would could cost me thousands, let alone from a small town.

!

Damn it, nearly fell off Constable again! I really need to take up some riding lessons, preferably from Katianna or Rhea seeing as they certainly seem like they've had the experience.

Never mind that for now, as I began to see that the town had a palisade up, and while it was by no means as durable or tall-looking as the Temple of Seraphine's walls, it still looked like enough to repel small raids. Although as we came closer, I noticed several scorch marks scattering the wooden barricade, and I was curious as to how the wall survived what looked like a fire attack.

Nevertheless, we were greeted by two spears being raised in our direction, courtesy of the town's local guard standing in front of a damaged gate, both guards looking quite disheveled as they cast their weary gazes on us.

"H-Halt! Identify yourselves and state your intentions for coming here!" One of the guards, a young woman spoke, and I could hear the slight fear in her voice.

Katianna waved her hand as if to show them that we meant no harm, "Peace, we have no ill intentions, we merely seek shelter for the night." Her words allowed them to become less tense, there was also the fact that we weren't exactly dressed like bandits.

The woman and her compatriot lowered their spears, albeit hesitantly. "V-Very well! You may stay for the night, b-but do not cause any trouble!" In unison, they opened the gate doors, allowing us to guide our horses through.

As we slowly trickled through the gate one by one, I got a close look of the woman, and it was slightly worrying as it appeared she was slightly injured with several pieces of gauze that were dirtied with both her blood and the dirt. Her compatriot wasn't any better off, and I do not doubt that it was likely due to the effects of the war.

The sight of the other guards in the town however, were far more concerning in their physical appearance as their injuries were slightly more severe than the two that had greeted us. Most of them seemed to be far too young to take up such a position as a town guard, yet most of them had the look in their eyes that made them look far older than they appeared. I truly felt sympathy for them, and yet they gave me another reason to end this war as quickly as possible.

We drew more than a few curious eyes from the local populace - which only consisted of the elderly or the young, apparently the town's guard consisted of the most physically able and healthy people. I grimaced at that, Kyros was not the only one to suffer from their people being conscripted into the war, this town will have a very difficult time recovering. Should they survive bandit attacks and the war itself, that is.

Drawing our horses towards what looked like an inn, a sign hanging from the front of the building was more than obvious enough, and I was able to discern the words on it. If I'm right, it says the _'Sleeping Widow's Inn',_ certainly an interesting name. Fortunately - or unfortunately - the inn's business seemed like it was going slow considering the heavy lack of loud sounds coming from it, either that or most of its tenants were eerily silent - a stereotype is what I'm going off of.

Nonetheless, we dismounted next to several wood posts set in front of the inn, likely used for tying up mounts - and we did exactly that, tying up Constable was far easier than riding him.

"Katianna, do we have the... _funds_ to stay here for the night?" I inquired, if she did in fact have money, then where would it be on her person?

She shook her head, "No, I've never truly needed any coins as I've always stayed within the temple." Well, now that that's confirmed, I suppose I'll pay for the night myself.

"Then we'll use my own funds then." She raised a brow at my words, but said nothing as I reached towards my own money once more, thinking of the amount to withdraw.

 **[Transform Currency into Terros Coins?]  
[Exchange $500]  
[Y/N]**

Simply tapping **[Y]** as I've done before, the ever-changing object in my hand turned into multiple, smaller objects that weighed down my hand slightly.

Realizing that I simply couldn't take everything out with one hand lest I have it spill everywhere, I reached forth with my other hand, quickly balancing the weight between the two as I brought out a small pile of silver coins in my hands - much to the surprise of the three women in the party.

I considered myself lucky that none of the locals had saw the spectacle, as _that_ would draw a whole lot of unnecessary attention I don't want on us right now.

"How did you do that Raphael...?" Katianna wondered in surprise, purple eyes gazing upon the silver coins in disbelief. "You just...simply made all of these silvers appear from thin air!"

"Magic, Katianna, magic." Somewhat true, I suppose, but I'm entirely unsure if the Gamer is purely 'magical'.

"It is no magic that I've ever seen or read about, it must be incredibly rare I assume then?" She inquired, and she's somewhat correct.

"It is, and it is something that cannot be learned, rather it must be received." Which is true, what-with Gaia's power being responsible for it. "Sorry Katianna, I assume you would've wanted such a power for yourself."

To my surprise, she shook her head, "No, while I see the benefits of it, it'd bring far too much trouble as there is no doubt that many would seek to abuse the power you have." Ah, that's reasonable I suppose, and I'll have to be more cautious about flaunting my powers around the locals now that she mentioned it.

"Right, I can see where you're coming from, hopefully this isn't too much or too little." I had no idea how the economy worked on Terros, but I'd have to be wary of those who'd take advantage of someone as ignorant as I am of how this world works.

"It is more than enough Raphael, one or two silvers can guarantee all of us a room to ourselves, but considering the size of this inn, it is likely that we're to share rooms." Interesting, but I'd need more insight on the basics to get a good understanding of this system. "Now, let us head on inside, it's starting to become exceedingly cold out here." A breeze passed over us, causing her to shiver.

"I suppose I should put away most of this then?" I brought up my coin-filled hands to indicate so, as Katianna did say that merely five of them was more than enough to pay for the night.

"Do with it as you wish Raphael, it is your own coin after all." She shrugged, walking into the inn with Rhea in tow. "We shall be inside waiting for you, it is starting to become rather cold out here."

Before returning it to its rightful place, I stared at the coins, and I eventually noticed that Rosalina was staring as well. A look of awe was on her face as she gazed at the pile of coins in my hands, almost morphing into a disbelieving expression.

"Something on your mind Rosa?" I asked her, amused at the look she was making.

She broke out of her stupor, "N-No..." Clearing her throat, she continued, "I'm just...amazed at the magic you have at your disposal, while... I have nothing."

I frowned slightly, putting away all but a few of the silver coins in my hands. "Rosa...don't sell yourself short, while you may have not learned magic yet-" And I placed a heavy emphasis on 'yet'. "-you are still far more knowledgeable than I am, and you could possibly be more powerful than I should you discover magic within yourself, don't forget that."

She smiled slightly at that, "Thank you Raphael, but you're overestimating my abilities..." Shaking her head, she gestured towards the inn's entrance. "Let's head inside, night is approaching."

Allowing her to head inside first, I took a brief moment to turn towards my companions, "I want our prisoners to be under watch with the horses, do not let them out of your sights, and if they do in fact manage to escape then...execute them." I ordered, taking no chances with our pair of prisoners, to which they nodded and proceeded to take vigil.

With that done, I followed after Rosalina inside the inn, feeling the warmth of the place enveloping me.

The inn appeared to be nothing special, if not a bit dull in color and atmosphere. There were several tables with stools as seating, with candles and torches serving as a means of supporting the gloomy ambiance of the tavern. I spotted both Katianna and Rhea easily, as their rather bright clothing stuck out among the gray around them, and they spoke with someone behind a counter, likely the inn's manager.

Brushing past several figures, muttering apologies to them as I did so, and as I closed in on the pair I did not yet notice who they were talking with. It was only until I was right next to them that I noticed that the person behind the counter was rather... short. No, short would be incorrect, it was more as if though he was a dwarf - which was a likely possibility considering the fantasy-like nature of Terros - as he came up only to the counter, which was at the level of my waist.

He was certainly no child either, considering the scruffy beard and number of scars present, and it was only until that the _man_ noticed that I was staring at him.

"What is it? You've never seen a dwarf before?" He snapped, with an accent not too different from that of a - I think - Scottish one. "I can tell by the look on ya face, boy."

I frowned, and before I could retort, Katianna spoke up for me, "Raphael, this is Jokhum, the dwarf that owns this establishment, and fortunately he says he only has two rooms available for us." She shot me a look that told me not to provoke the man that would provide us shelter for the night.

"I see, well it is a pleasure to meet you Mister Jokhum, and no... I've never seen a dwarf before." I greeted neutrally, with a nod of my head. "Although you are certainly what I've expected from a dwarf." That much was true, considering the stereotype of the dwarves being a short, stout, and proud people, as well as the fact that they were known for their engineering capabilities.

He sent me an amused look, "Aye, and I assume that ya have a good first impression of us then, eh?"

I tilted my head at him, "I suppose you could say that, you've certainly put up an... impressive greeting."

He beamed in pride, completely ignoring the meaning behind my words, "Well, I can tell you'd be wanting a room in my inn, since ya are here and all! Ya lady-friend here even asked about rooms lad."

I cleared my throat, "Yes, we do need accommodations for the night before we continue travelling, and as I've been told, you have two rooms readily available?"

"That I do, and I can give ya those two rooms for ten copper." He said, as if though I wouldn't be able to afford such commodities. "Now, if ya don't have the copper, there are other ways ya could pay-" He stopped as I showed him a silver coin.

"A silver?!" He exclaimed in surprise and shock, his eyes taking on an almost greedy glint. "Lad, ya can rent out the rooms for a week and then some with that money!"

Really now? It appears I underestimated the value of a silver coin, and so did Katianna, but I didn't intend on doing much else with it aside from having beds and a good meal for all of us before we continue on our journey tomorrow.

"As tempting as the offer is, I must decline, we only need the rooms for the night." I told him, flipping the silver in my hand, to which he responded by frowning and nodding. "I hope that isn't a problem?"

"No, no, it isn't." He shook his head, and he sighed as he brought his arm up, revealing a small sack that likely held my change, considering that it jingled a little. "Here's ya copper for the silver."

I peaked inside and saw it filled with - albeit slightly dirty - copper coins, I nodded and laid the silver on the table for the dwarf to grab, at which he did so quickly, pocketing it. Jokhum then laid down two somewhat rusted keys, likely for access to our rooms, and then immediately left soon thereafter without a word, most likely doing so to check the legitimacy of my coin.

I chuckled, picking up the two keys and handing one to Katianna. "That was interesting, and he didn't even bother to show us to our rooms."

She too, chuckled at the dwarf's haste, "Yes, I suppose we will have to find them ourselves."

Picking up the sack of copper coins and placing them in my inventory - something that gave me much insight into the price of a copper coin as it was to be discovered that a single copper was equivalent to two cents, meaning that fifty copper was equivalent to a single silver - we then began searching for our rooms. Which was fairly easy to be honest, there were scant few rooms in the inn, which was to be expected considering the size of it seen from outside, and we found the two rooms that were given to us within several minutes.

Rosa, would of course, be sharing the room with me whilst Katianna and Rhea shared their room, and we would be readily able to respond to anything that happens to either of us, considering that we were fortunate enough to have our rooms neighboring each other.

Katianna paused outside her door, turning to me, "Raphael, are your companions content with staying outside with the prisoners and the horses?"

I tilted my head at the thought, the two Recon Marines were capable of withstanding a little cold, but Hal? Going off of his description Hal was someone that lived off the land, and he would likely more or less be used to living in such conditions, hopefully there'd be stables or some other place for him to use for comfort overnight, should he actually sleep, that is. Affirming that he'd be fine outside watching over the prisoners alongside the Recon Marines, I responded to her.

"My companions will be fine Katianna, they have to watch over the bandits after all."

She nodded, opening her door "I see, it's unfortunate that they couldn't have a room made available for them. Goodnight then, Raphael."

With that, she entered her room, closing and locking the door behind her with a click. Letting out a small yawn, I unlocked the door to Rosa and I's room, holding the door open for her as she stepped inside, her focus being entirely on the silver that she held close to her bosom.

Closing and locking the door behind me, I raised a brow at her behavior, "Is everything okay there Rosa? You seem a bit out of focus."

She snapped out of her stupor, and she flushed, "W-What? Oh, s-sorry! I'm just..."

"Interested in that silver coin, I understand, but is it really that intriguing?" I wonder how she would react to a gold coin, and I certainly know that gold coins would be a part of the local currency, there is no doubt about that, hopefully.

She squirmed a little, "I've seen silvers before... but never this close before."

Well... "What about gold coins?"

Her head snapped towards me, "Raphael, can you actually make... gold coins?"

"I haven't tried that yet Rosa, but I can certainly make the effort to do so." Once more reaching into my inventory - and doing the math - I hopefully guessed the right amount as I grasped at the ever-changing shape.

 **[Transform Currency into Terros Coins?]  
[Exchange $1,000?]  
[Y/N]**

Tapping on **[Y]** , I felt a single coin form into being in my grasp and I pulled my hand out of my inventory, to my relief it was in fact a gold coin, as I did not want to learn the intricacies of the local economy. Rosalina's eyes had widened in shock as she saw the coin in my hand, and I chose that moment to examine the design of it closely, finding the symbols of a blade on one side and a lightning bolt on the other. Interesting choice of identification for gold coins, but I'm not one to complain about such trivial details on money.

"Raphael... you can make gold coins..." She gasped, her shock slowly wearing off as she reached her hand forward. "C-Can I...?"

"Of course Rosa." I handed her the coin, and she tentatively held it.

Leaving Rosalina off to examine the sudden wealth she found herself with, I decided to examine the room that would be our shelter for the night. It was a simple but small room, one bed on either side of the walls, a single window in between them, additionally there was a chair and table with a lamp on top of it beside the door. While it is a bit cramped, it's certainly far more comfortable than whatever I've slept on before on Terros.

 _Tap!_

"Eep!" Rosalina squeaked at the sudden noise.

Reacting instinctively, I nearly brought out one of my weapons the moment I heard something tap on the window, which was far too small for me to be able to climb through, and I cautiously inched towards it with Light of the North in hand. Using one hand to unlatch the lock on the window, I pushed it open and raised Light of the North-

!

Only for a white blur to pounce onto me, throwing me off balance, reeling back and tripping over my own feet leaving me dazed as I landed on my ass. It was so sudden that I hardly had the time to react, and I blinked in surprise to find that I was taken down by a... cat?

"Raphael!" Rosalina came into view, standing over me with concern in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Giving the cat a glance, I waved off her concerns, "I'm fine, and aside from my pride being bruised, I have no injuries." Still, landing on my ass stung a little.

Back to the matter of who - or in this case what, - was likely behind the tapping on the window, the cat sat on my chest, an intriguingly pair of azure-colored feline eyes stared back at me. There was an underlying tone of intelligence hiding behind those eyes that I wouldn't have expected from any of the felines, and I cast Observe over it, only to be surprised immediately thereafter.

 **Name: Avatar of Seraphine  
Race: Divine Construct of Terros  
Class: (?)  
Age: (?)**

 **Level: (?)**

 **Title: (?)**

So many stats were blanked out, and aside from its name and race, I couldn't gleam anything else from it. Still, to find out that this was - most likely - Seraphine's physical representation on the 'mortal plane' was intriguing, of all the forms she could've chosen for her Avatar, it was this... cat.

 **[Mental Access Prevention Activated!]  
** **[A foreign entity is attempting to gain access to your mind! Allow (Seraphine) access?]  
[Y/N]  
[Warning! Allowing a non-Gamer entity into your mind will grant them full knowledge of your memories, including that of your own abilities, you must be absolutely sure you wish to do this.]**

I blinked, I had thought that Seraphine already had access to my own mind, but I suppose dreams and an awakened mind would be two different things(?). Seraphine's already put up a good first impression, and she's certainly a benevolent goddess, but to inform her of my world and that of Gaia's gift to me? Well, this is a difficult decision, but I can find no reason to keep her out.

After a further moment of deliberation, I hesitantly pressed **[Y]**...

I then immediately regretted it-

-Fuck!

Unimaginable pain assaulted my mind, with Gamer's Mind doing nothing to stop it as it was supposed to. Eventually, the pain ceased, and I found myself heaving from the mental attack wrought upon me. Though, what I noticed after my recovery was that the Avatar of Seraphine was nowhere to be found through dreary eyes, that and Rosalina was kneeling next to me, a terrified and slightly relieved expression on her face was present.

"R-Raphael...?" She hesitantly said, "Are you...?"

I groaned a bit, echoes of the pain still resounding in my mind, "I'm fin-!"

' _ **Raphael, if I caused you any pain during that... process, then please, forgive me.**_ ' A very familiar voice resonated through my head, and I winced at the sensation.

 **Mana Drained! (0/4,200)**

 **Status Effect [Mana Deficiency] has been inflicted upon you! -90% Mana Regeneration! -Increased Mana Regeneration Time!**

 **Status Effect [Seraphine's Fragment] has been permanently inflicted upon you! +50% Magical Damage! +100% Holy Damage!**

"...Seraphine?" I questioned, bringing up a hand to my head in slight irritation, and Rosalina tilted her head at me in confusion.

I received no response from said goddess, but Rosalina responded to me, "Raphael, what happened? And why did you say Seraphine's name?"

"She... spoke to me, in my mind, that is." I staggered up to my feet, and I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, keeping me steadied. "T-Thanks Rosa, I'm just a bit dazed from that experience..."

"Lady Seraphine spoke to you?" She asked in surprise and awe as she guided me to one of the beds, "And is that why you were in pain?"

"Yeah..." I groaned, losing the entirety of my mana supply took more of a toll on me than I had realized, though that makes no sense... "Let me... Let me just rest up."

For once, I actually felt genuinely tired... and I relished the feeling as Rosalina helped me into bed. I drowsily gazed at her as she started to appear more blurry in my vision... the last thing I saw was her throwing a blanket over me just as the darkness completely overwhelmed me.

W-Wha...?

* * *

 **(?)**

 _I'm feeling quite a bit of déjà vu here right now, but considering who I had just let in my mind, I checked my surroundings for the peaceful goddess. The place was so... empty, but that changed the moment I turned right, finding the blonde goddess too close for comfort, and I reeled back in surprise._

 _" **Hello again Raphael.** " A small smile played on her lips, " **I'm glad to see that your mind accepted a piece of me, normally I would've been a part of you just as you became my champion, but I encountered... a wall.** "_

 _"A wall?" I inquired, perhaps that would be Gamer's Mind preventing her from freely entering my mind._

 _She hummed, " **Yes, a wall I've encountered unlike any other before... Your goddess, Gaia, is certainly a powerful one Raphael. Her power eclipses my own by so much... it's simply overwhelming.** " _

_"Right... you know everything now, including that of Gaia's powers, and that of my compatriots abilities and my own." I looked away awkwardly, Seraphine is the first one to know everything._

 _She nodded, chuckling slightly nervously, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward. " **Do not worry Raphael, if anything I'm more hopeful of you making my ambitions come to be true, you hold the power to change Terros with your powers, as it is your quest as well.** "_

 _"But you do know that it will be a goal achieved by blood, right? With how large this world is, there are many who would be opposed to such an objective like yours Seraphine, and war would be inevitable." It was true, even the state of war Furore's in has to be settled by force._

 _She sighed sadly,_ _" **Yes, and you do remember that it's a nigh-impossible dream, we've spoken about this previously but I do not fault you for forgetting it, as we were abruptly interrupted by that... daemon.** " Now that I think about it, I do remember her having talked about how her ambitions won't be accomplished for hundreds of years._

 _"I do remember now that you mention it, and I'll try my best to help you achieve your ambitions Seraphine, as it is aligns with my own." I hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure the goddess, and she smiled._

 _" **Of that, I have no doubt Raphael, many of my previous champions have tried and failed, but perhaps you will break this cycle of endless war.** " She placed her hand over my own, " **Now, I believe there is another matter I must address, I did not have the opportunity to help you with your new powers last time, so I believe it to be prudent that I'd help you now as Katianna has already introduced you to one of many powers you now have with becoming my champion.** "_

 _"I could use more powers at my disposal... What do you have in mind?" I realized that the likelihood of any of it bearing any offensive capabilities was little, assuming Seraphine's peaceful nature wouldn't allow any room for such skills. Ecological Empathy was perhaps one of a few offensive skills Seraphine offered, and even then it required a high level for me to actually use it against someone._

 _" **Allow me to change the dull setting of this place first, this white void would be unfitting for a training session.** " She snapped her fingers, and our surroundings warped and churned, morphing into a clear field with several mountains and hills a further distance away. " **A much better landscape, wouldn't you say?** " _

_I nodded, "It's very... peaceful, as I would expect from you Seraphine." I actually felt the 'breeze' of the place, and I heard the birds chirping in the background._

 _" **Thank you Raphael, now onto training, we have little time as it is.** " She stood in front of me, emitting a golden aura. " **This aura you see around me is meant to heal not only myself but others around me using my own mana capacity. Akin to a mana shield, but instead of providing protection it will provide healing through use of your own mana, with proper mastery it can be done at will.** " _

_"So it operates similar to a mana shield, I understand, but how would I go about expelling mana from my body so that it would heal myself and others?" How would that work exactly?_

 _" **It can be difficult to learn, but with your capabilities, I'm sure you'll learn in no time Raphael.** " She sent me a knowing look, " **For a beginner such as yourself, an incantation is required to cast the spell, merely follow and repeat what I** **say. Cura, Corporis, Animi...** " The golden aura she emitted redoubled in its shine, and I felt its warmth envelop me. " **Now, you try and do it.** "_

 _"Cura, Corporis, Animi..." I recited, and mana welled up inside of me, before I saw it expelled from my body in the form of a flickering golden field, providing a lesser form of the warmth I felt from Seraphine's own._

 _Compared to Seraphine's shining beacon of light, mine was that of a sputtering field of fading gold, barely hanging on as is, overshadowed completely by hers. It was no surprise, really, she's a goddess that most likely has a far greater mana capacity than I will ever have in the near future, not to mention her untold years of experience in handling such spells._

 _" **Impressive for your first casting of the Aura of Peace, just as I had expected from you.** " She smiled proudly as what was apparently called the 'Aura of Peace' tapered off, leaving me wanting more of the warmth that hers had provided. " **I do believe I have some time to introduce you to another one of my powers before you must wake.** "_

 _!_

 _I jumped back as the horrifying image of a daemon appeared between us, I've no doubt that this was the very same one that appeared on the night of the attack on the Temple of Seraphine. Had it managed to pierce the mental walls of my very own mind?!_

 _" **Raphael, calm yourself, it is merely the image of the daemon I conjured!** " Seraphine soothed, peering around the massive form of the... unholy entity. " **I did so for the purpose of this next spell, if only because daemons now plague Furore as the war drags on, it is without a doubt that you will encounter another one of their kind in your travels.** "_

 _"I see..." I shifted out of my alert stance, but still a bit more than unnerved at the snarling visage of the damned thing. "I assume that the spell is a repellent against these things?"_

 _" **You could put it that way, allow me to demonstrate this spell.** " She walked over to my side, facing the conjured image with a dramatic flair. " **Blessed** **Spears of the Saint!** " _

_Several spears formed out of thin air, appearing to be made out of a gold-colored substance, which seems to be the theme of all spells related to Seraphine. They bore down on the illusion, piercing through its torso as well as drawing several large gashes on its body, the wounds leaving behind residues of gold particles immediately after the summoned weapons disappeared._

 _If the effectiveness of the spell against the daemon is to be believed, then it'd be a massive boon to my own growing arsenal of magic abilities. Bypassing whatever defenses that it had - defenses that were able to deflect Grudge's powerful bullets - it's certainly a powerful offensive spell that I wouldn't have expected Seraphine to have at her disposal._

 _" **I know that you're surprised that I have such a spell Raphael, I am in your mind after all.** " _

_Wait... Is she aware of my-_

 _" **I am, but I deigned not to say anything earlier because I was interested in your thoughts on, well, everything that has happened so far..** " She sent me a coy look, " **I'm well aware of what you think of me Raphael, and I'm flattered, but you aren't my first champion to have such an interest in me. Nonetheless, we should continue with your training.** "_

 _I shifted awkwardly, "Well, it's nice to know that you can read my thoughts..." I'm starting to somewhat regret allowing Seraphine into my mind, seeing as I won't have anymore private thoughts._

 _" **Come now Raphael, at least I'm not one of my more malevolent compatriots.** " __That's... debatable. " **I'll ignore that, now please try and imitate the spell I showed you.** "_

 _I sighed, "Alright, only because we're running on such a short amount of time, Blessed Spears of the Saint!" I felt a pull in myself,_

 _Just as Seraphine's demonstration showed, several spears - albeit visibly smaller than hers - appeared in the air above us, and after a moment they launched in every which direction. Each and every one of them eventually pierced the ground around us, soon dissipating thereafter. I suppose accuracy is something that I have to work on with this particular spell, as aiming seems to be something that is apparently required._

 _" **Yes, properly directing this spell will require some practice on your part, but as I've said before, I'm confident you'll master it in no time.** " I was much more preferential to being ignorant of her knowing all of my conscious thoughts, as I have a feeling that it'll become a... nuisance. " **I'll try not to be too much of an annoyance then Raphael.** " I heard the goddess chuckle, and I suppressed a groan. " **Don't fret, communication between us will be different once you're awake, only through this dream can I freely see all of your present thoughts.** "_

 _"Well, that's a relief, but it is still a bit concerning that you know everything I know." At least Seraphine will be able to help me in executing my plans, hopefully, under the assumption that she knows and sees everything happening in Furore._

 _" **You're not wrong Raphael, but I do believe our time here is over, as the sun rises.** " Wait, was she referring to what I said or what I thou-_

 _"Mmmpfh!" I was taken completely by surprise as Seraphine enveloped me in her arms, smothering me in her bosom!_

 _" **Stay safe my champion...** " She whispered, looking down at me with vibrant caring eyes._

 _I had no chance to respond as things became more vivid, becoming clouded..._

* * *

 **(Waking World)**

I shot up out of the bed that I was apparently in, my mind still fresh with the memory of being glomped by Seraphine, and while it wasn't exactly... real, it certainly felt real enough for me. Giving the two new skills that I had learned from that dream a quick skim, I stretched my arms out to bring out the kinks in them.

 **You have slept on a comfortable surface!  
100% of all HP and MP are recovered! Minor and Major Negative Status Effects removed!**

 **[Mana Deficiency] cannot be removed due to special circumstances!**

 **Through a special action two new skills have been created!**

 **(Lesser Divine Healing) (Active) (Level: 1/25)**

 **Description: The lowest form of a healing spell in the divine world on Terros, Lesser Divine Healing is capable of healing only the most minor of wounds and injuries done physically to the body, while it can also remove minor negative effects done to the mind there is a chance that it will fail and the backlash from it will result in the user receiving the target's same pain temporarily. At the lowest levels, an incantation is required to activate this spell, (Cura, Corporis, Animi) to be exact.**

 **Effects:  
+Lesser Physical Healing  
+Lesser Mental Healing  
-Incantation (Lvl: 1-5)**

 **(Blessed Spears of the Saint) (Active) (Level: 1/10)**

 **Description: A spell created specifically for combating the unholy entities that plague Terros' lands, Blessed Spears of the Saint summons forth several spears reminiscent of the very same Saint who created this spell centuries ago on Terros. Known for his prodigious skill with the spear, the Saint vanquished countless daemons, and with his death he left behind this very spell for Daemon Hunters to learn, to continue exterminating the evil that roams the land and seas.**

 **Effects:  
+Anti-Daemon Magic  
+1000 Holy Damage  
-75% Damage Reduction to Non-Daemonic Entities  
**

As I became more aware of my current surroundings, I noticed I was still clad in everything I had on from yesterday, but I expected as much considering Rosalina had lugged me into bed and threw a blanket over me, from what I can remember. Scratching at my chin, I looked towards the other side of the room where the other bed lay, easily spotting Rosalina's disheveled raven hair as she slept on her side, facing away from me.

Letting out a slight yawn, I actually still found myself somewhat exhausted still, choosing that moment to take a quick peak at my stats before I woke Rosalina up. Nothing seemed to be too different from the last time I had checked my stats, but my magic regeneration...

 **MP (Mana Points): 4,200/4,200 (300 MP regeneration per hour)**

Well, shit, that's... inconvenient considering that I had just learned two magic spells from Seraphine, but I suppose it's better than being someone solely reliant on magic. I'll just have to go off on what I have that _doesn't_ require magic, which was something I had already intended on doing. Mana Deficiency was something that I did receive at the same time I received Seraphine's Fragment, perhaps it's a drawback of having both increased magic and holy damage.

Nonetheless, I swung my legs over the bed, deciding that now would be the time to continue our journey, after a hearty breakfast of course. Straightening out my clothing, I saw the rays of Terros' sun beam through the cracks and seams in the window, to which I unlatched it and pushed it open, allowing a breeze to billow into the room. As I basked in the soothing temperatures of Furore, I heard a groan to my right, and I chuckled at Rosalina now laying on her back with a hand over her eyes.

" _Why do you always have to be up so early Raphael...?_ " She bemoaned, wrapping her blanket around herself.

"You can sleep in whenever you want when we reach the capital Rosa, now come on, get up." I spoke gently, trying to ease her out of bed. "We have to get breakfast and be on our way, don't make me carry you out." I threatened playfully, and her head peaked out from the sheets, shooting me a glare.

" _...Fine_ " She murmured, throwing the covers off of her and getting up. "I'll be out there in a moment..." She shooed me away, and I obliged by stepping out of the room to let her do whatever she needed to do, as long as she was ready to leave sooner than later.

Leaving Rosalina to her own devices for the time being, I turned towards Katianna and Rhea's room, and it was likely that they were both up and about considering the former had done so once before, also probably waking Rhea as well to join in her daily prayers. Seeing that they would also likely be busy - as it would be rude to interrupt them on the off-chance that they were actually praying - I suppose I'd get a table set and ready for us.

There were only a few patrons awake from what I saw, and they were rather gloomily eating whatever Jokhum served in this inn. It was rather depressing but considering the state of Furore, and if I'm right, their mood reflected how the populace in general felt about the war.

"I see that you're awake lad, and I haven't forgotten what ya wanted for this mornin' before ya left." I nearly jolted back in surprise as I looked down to find Jokhum in front of me, him being so short and me being so tall had completely put the dwarf in my blind spot, had I been facing down a little bit more I would've seen the top of his head in my sight.

In his hands were two plates of bacon and bread, and it was pure coincidence that I woke up at the same time Jokhum finished cooking. Though I'll never say it to him directly, it looked quite good despite appearing as simple.

"There'll be two more plates of the stuff comin' out for the rest of ya." He set the plates down on an open table, prompting me to take a seat at said table.

I held off on my nonexistent appetite for the moment as I wanted to wait for the others, checking over several things to bide my time. Progress has been slow for an ability that's meant for rapid growth, it's due to the lack of hostile engagements, which I'm not complaining about as I'd want to avoid as much unnecessary combat as possible on our journey to the capital. Perhaps there'll be something to do in the Hub, considering that it is a very large place, and I've yet to explore the entirety of it.

With the Hub on my mind, I also had to consider the strength of my fighting force, thirteen people capable on the field of battle - not counting the crew of the _Venerable Crusader_ \- would be enough to count as a small strike force but it wouldn't be enough for large scale fighting, even with guerrilla warfare. It'd be a drain on my funds to get more supporting units, as I am saving up for something of considerable power or protection, not to mention equipping Rosalina with good quality items.

I blinked as someone waved their hand in front of me, following the hand to its owner I faced Katianna with Rhea standing behind her, the priestess had a small frown directed towards me.

"Are you alright Raphael? You didn't hear me calling your name." She asked with a hint of concern, taking a seat. "You were staring blankly at nothing."

Was I really that spaced out not to have noticed Katianna calling me out?

"Sorry, I had other things on my mind Katianna." I apologized, shifting in my seat.

"I can imagine so Raphael, considering who visited you last night." She sent me a knowing look, before looking back down at what would be our breakfast before we leave. "Are we still waiting on Rosalina? I know she's certainly not the type to wake up as early as us."

I chuckled, "Yeah, but I woke her up, and she needed some time to prepare herself before we leave."

She nodded in understanding, "Very well, I suppose we can speak about some things whilst we wait."

"Such as?" I gestured for her to continue.

"Your plan once we reach the capital." She elaborated, "Since you do intend on intervening in the war, correct?"

I paused at that, "At first I was going to introduce myself as a freelance soldier to the king, which sounds like a terrible idea now, but with being Seraphine's champion perhaps I'll seem more trustworthy." To be honest, the freelance soldier idea would've likely ended up with me behind bars alongside everyone else accompanying me before I arrived in the temple, as I would've likely been accused of being a spy or saboteur for the enemy kingdom. "Not to mention your position as Seraphine's priestess will probably hold much sway with the king as well."

She frowned slightly, "While that is true, never have we taken such an active role concerning the state of affairs in Furore for centuries, but it can be said that our intervention will decide the fate of the war."

Before I could ask how so, I was cut off when Rosalina appeared and took a seat next to me, redirecting my attention towards her. She no longer looked bedraggled, and I didn't expect her to be so prepared for the day so quickly as she looked perfect, must be a secret of hers.

"Good morning Rosalina." Katianna nodded in her direction in greeting.

"Morning." She returned the greeting in a halfhearted mumble, still appearing somewhat tired.

I spotted Jokhum returning with two more plates in hand, "Right on time too Rosa, the rest of our breakfast is here."

She sobered up quickly at that, blinking away any sign of dreariness at the sight of breakfast, "A-Ah, you had paid for it last night, I nearly forgot that you did so."

The inn's owner stood at the edge of our table, having to reach over himself and place the plates down, "I see that all of ya are here, almost 'fraid that my food was goin' to go to waste, starting to run out of it too." He shook his head spitefully, "Damned war is taking a toll on my inn's business."

"That's... unfortunate to hear." I gave the dwarf a faux-sympathetic look, the people are suffering and he's concerned about his inn?

"Aye, but ya helped by staying 'ere for the night." The stout man offered me a greasy hand, and I was hesitant to take it, but it wouldn't do for me to break my facade now after holding it up for so long.

With a lingering touch of doubt, I grasped the dwarf's hand, finding it to be surprisingly firmer than I had thought for a man of his size. "Glad to have helped your business then." Just as quickly as I had took hold of his hand, I let go and wiped my now-greased hand on a slightly cleaner piece of cloth set on the side.

"If ya need me I'll be tendin to the other people 'ere." Jokhum gave us one last nod before stomping away towards another table, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I see that you don't like the dwarf Raphael, and I can certainly understand why." Turning back towards an amused Katianna, she continued, "Certainly somewhat greedy and selfish, but you cannot deny that everyone is similar in one way or another, we are no different Raphael."

...Katianna isn't wrong, and I'm not denying that I'm not a selfless person either, it's simply basic human nature. However, I do believe in what's right, even if what's considered 'right' may differ among everyone.

I sighed, "Let's not get the topic of philosophy Katianna, that's not a conversation I'm ready for." It's something I didn't need for my morning before traveling.

She took a bite out of her bacon, shrugging, but there still was a hint of amusement beneath her eyes. "I suppose not, you have much on your mind as is, and bringing up such things is not helping you I presume."

Giving her a nod of appreciation at the end of the topic, it allowed us to dig into our breakfast, and I could appreciate the taste of food once more considering that I hadn't had anything in some time. It was a solid reminder not to forget that while I may not be prone to something such as hunger, I have to be mindful of the fact that others still are, especially Rosalina. Maintaining normalcy - well, for what counts as normal anymore - is no longer necessary, if not completely useless now, the only reason that I'm keeping my own abilities hidden is that it's useful to maintain the element of surprise with my identity being an unknown for my enemies.

Before I realized it, I had already eaten my way through breakfast, having been subconsciously doing it while I was clouded in my own thoughts. The others had finished their last bites shortly thereafter though, which was our cue to leave and resume our journey to the capital. Our stools scraped across the floor as we stood, leaving the plates behind for Jokhum alongside our room keys - which Rosalina thankfully had on hand since I couldn't find it anywhere on me, or in my inventory for that matter.

The dwarf spotted us and bid us a farewell with a small wave before attending to his other clientele, which I didn't bother to return as we stepped out into the refreshing cool air of Furore. Constable was still tied to the post, but he had his head in a barrel, said head bolted out of the barrel in a flurry of hay when I patted his neck. The horse snorted at the sight of me as I chuckled, and he went back to the barrel.

Letting Constable eat his way through the barrel, I looked around for Hal and the Recon Marines, and I found the three guiding their horses towards us with the prisoners in tow. The Recon Marines looked relatively the same since the last time I saw them, but Hal appeared haggard, as if though he seemed genuinely fatigued which I thought wouldn't be possible considering that he is of Gamer-made origin.

"Hal..." I frowned at his current state, "Are you alright?"

The Ranger straightened himself out, "I'm fine, don't worry about me." He grunted, tucking his cloak around himself further.

I was skeptical, but I'll have to take the Ranger's word for it, so I shrugged at his answer. Seeing that Hal's condition was somewhat concerning, I put it aside for now, since it wasn't hindering him in the least, yet, that is. Although I didn't particularly care about our prisoners I still gave the two a quick once-over, and they appeared worse than Hal did, but given my set conditions for them I suppose they'd look even more haggard than my Ranger did.

Turning back to Constable and - after nearly tumbling over in the process - placing myself on the saddle, I leaned to my side and offered a hand down to Rosalina, which she took without hesitation. Of course, with my inexperience with riding horses I had almost fell off and took her down with me, but I was fortunate enough to keep myself steady on Constable as Rosalina wrapped her arms around my waist.

The rest of the party had already mounted their horses and began a slow gait back towards the side of the palisade we had entered from yesterday. I led Constable after them, and I did have a small struggle involving pulling on the horse's reins for a bit, but I'm slowly but surely learning how to ride a horse.

A few of the town's militia - quite clearly more than the two that had allowed us entrance from last night - waved us through the gate, getting us back on the main path that would lead towards Furore's capital.

"Ready for another long ride Rosa?" I said to her, and she tightened her hold around me in response, prompting me to chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes then."

* * *

 **(~)**

Constable continued his gait, it's been several days after we had left the _Sleeping Widow's Inn_ and we've made good progress on our journey. We've stopped to rest and allow our mounts to recover from the constant strain we're putting them under, not only that but I've got back around to getting Rosalina to a... sufficient level of combat ability. Only time will tell how she'll fare in an actual life or death situation.

Of course there was always the small bump in our path or the natural obstacles that lengthened the time it took to reach the capital, but those few extra hours had resulted in... Seraphine speaking to me, not through a physical manifestation or in my dreams, but through - presumably - telepathy. That resulted in more than a few surprises than I actually would've liked to happen while I rode on Constable, it wasn't unwelcome, but I can't say it was exactly pleasant knowing that the goddess would pop up every now and again to comment on my memories - particularly those of Earth - and anything related to Gaia.

"Raphael!" Katianna called out from the front of our group, reining in her horse. "The capital should be ahead of us, come forward!"

Rolling my neck around with a small pop, I urged Constable forward, matching the pace with the priestess. She was certainly right about the capital behind in sight ahead of us, and to say it's grand is an understatement. Even though we were still a considerable distance away from the capital's walls - which seemed to boast a far more fortified structure than that of the Temple of Seraphine - itself, and I could even see several banners hung up on the towers.

"It's..." I paused, gazing at several skyscraper-like buildings that rose from within the city. "Definitely bigger than I thought it'd be."

"Yes, I haven't been to the capital in quite a while as well, but I would certainly remember there being a few spires." She hummed beside me, brushing away a lock of her blonde hair. "I suppose this will be a new sight for both of us then, and I see it's the same for Rosalina too."

Glancing back I saw that Rosalina was fully awake, an expression of awe was present as she gazed past me and towards the capital. Sometimes I forget that she had lived a simple rural life far from any of the main cities in Furore. I could only imagine how she'd react to being inside of the capital, what with all the activity that would be expected of such a place.

"We'll be having some much needed rest and relaxation once we're there, we're all a bit fatigued." It was mostly Rosalina that was fatigued - and our prisoners too, but I didn't care much for them - so I'd be arranging for accommodations befitting that of a noble whilst Katianna and I met with the king. That is if we were believed to be Seraphine's own priestess and champion respectively.

Katianna nodded in agreement, "It is much deserved after all we've been through." She nudged her horse forward, "Come, I'm sure you're quite eager to reach the capital yourself Raphael, this is your idea after all."

I hummed, having Constable follow after her, the rest of our party trailing behind us. After so long we'd finally reach the end of our journey, of course this is only the beginning, and it'd likely take decades if not centuries to seize control over Terros with the current... technological level.

It wasn't long till we had reached the walls, and I found that I greatly underestimated the size of the city's walls, it reached higher than that of the Temple of Seraphine's. It wasn't long until one of the - from what I spotted - dozens of guards saw and addressed us.

"Halt! Stay right where you are!"

* * *

 **AN: Ah, don't kill me please? Right, I'm sorry for taking so long, but - as I've said before - I had to move from one country back to another, had to get settled in, deal with school, and have writer's block. Still, I appreciate those of you that had remained patient throughout the many _months_ that took me to finally update this chapter.**

 **Oh, and regarding the poll I had set up on my profile a very long time ago, I'm surprised that many of you thought that the magical option would occur. It's somewhat of a common theme with most Gamer stories, and let's say I'm not going with common.**

* * *

 **(Raphael's Mind)  
** **(?)**

 _Seraphine sifted through the mind of her newest champion, intrigued by the floating items that she passed by, brushing over a shield with her hand and eyeing what she assumed was an odd-looking staff. Nonetheless, she continued moving forward in Raphael's mind, heading towards her original goal of accessing his memories with the intent of satisfying her curiosity in his world and experiences._

 _As she neared the 'window' that would allow her full access to Raphael's memories she slammed into an invisible barrier with a yelp. Seraphine recovered quickly and looked at the space in front of her in confusion, placing her hands against the 'wall' and pushing against it with the might that would be expected of a goddess._

 _"You won't get far using force you know." An ethereal voice said behind her, and she spun around in surprise, expecting none other but Raphael himself to be in his own mind._

 _Instead, she was met with the sight of a woman in a dress, her brown hair not too dissimilar to that of the earth's and sharp forest green eyes. Exuding a presence that was not only greater than her own, but completely casting a shadow over the now meek goddess, as if though she was an ant before this woman who was the tallest mountain._

 _She laughed, "There's no need to be afraid, I'm just here to say a few words to you."_

 _" **Who are you?** " She questioned immediately, slightly less concerned at the woman's words. _

_A smile played on her lips, "I'll let you figure out that one for yourself, you'll have all the clues before you soon enough."_

 _" **I-I see...** " _

_"Now, I have to lay down some ground rules with you being in Raphael's mind, and I know you wouldn't do anything malevolent but don't presume to try and use him for your own whims." She explained in a serious manner, no longer being as friendly as before. "Like all gods and goddesses, they would use mortals for their own ends, despite how benevolent they may be."_

 _" **I wouldn't use Raphael in such a way!** " She protested, pushing down the uneasy feeling of standing up to the woman who could just as easily erase her from existence. " **He is my champion, and I would never wish any harm upon him...** " She murmured softly, looking down, losing her confidence just as quickly as it came._

 _Her head shot up as the woman placed a hand on her shoulder, and found her kind face looking at her, "Good... I just needed to be sure that Raphael would be in good hands, he is progressing much faster than I had anticipated." At Seraphine's confused look she smiled, "Even my fragments cannot be everywhere at once, but I will allow you free reign over his memories, farewell... Seraphine."_

 _The goddess blinked and in that instant the woman vanished, leaving behind nothing more than wisps of smoke, her gaze lingered on the spot the woman vanished from a bit longer before she turned back towards the 'window' into Raphael's memories._

 _As her hand reached forward, now unbarred from any barriers, she thought back to the woman's last words and a thrill of fear shot through her. " **Fragments of a much more... powerful entity.** "_


	10. Arc 1: Tenebrae, Lenard IV, Tribulation

**WARNING! The Lawful Gamer has various scenes and mentions of swearing, gore, sexual content, and many more subjects that may be inappropriate to certain viewers! It is rated M for a reason! If you continue regardless, you have been warned!~**

* * *

 **(Terros - Continent of Janus - Kingdom of Furore - Capital City)  
** **(Raphael's POV)**

We did as we were told, pulling our horses to a full stop, and the guard that had addressed us leaned over the battlements. It's clear that his order drew the attention of his comrades on the wall, and several more figures became visible, boasting longbows, javelins, or some other type of ranged weapon I couldn't identify.

"There'll be someone from the gatehouse to speak with you shortly!" He ordered, "Try anything and we'll have an arrow between your eyes before you can draw your sword!"

I didn't doubt that, and I had no intention of starting a fight with the Furorean military, so I stayed in place with the others doing the same. It wasn't long till a guard came out from the gatehouse carrying a parchment and quill.

"Would one of you come forward?" The guard said in a bored manner. "I need the reason for your entry into the city."

I dismounted Constable after having Rosalina unwrap her arms around me, and I stepped forward, with the guard readying himself behind the portcullis. I already had the reason for our entry ready long ago, there was no reason for me to take full advantage of the benefits that came with being Seraphine's champion, that is if she's as revered as I believe her to be in Furore.

"Name and reason for entry?" He asked impatiently.

"Raphael D'Angelo, we're here to meet the king." I told him truthfully, "It's important that we see him."

The guard snorted at that, "You and everyone else, for what reason would you have to see the king?" He looked up with narrowed eyes, "How do I know you're not some sort of spy, or that you're working for the Perrosians?"

I held back a scowl, "I'm the _champion_ of Seraphine and the woman behind me is her _priestess_." I can understand his caution but I refuse to submit and accept being called a _spy_. "We're anything but spies."

His expression morphed into a disbelieving one, "You lie... How do I know that you speak the truth?"

I was about to retort before I heard someone dismount their horse, and I found Katianna standing beside me. She had pulled down her hood, sending me a small reassuring smile before turning towards the wary soldier.

"Raphael speaks the truth, he is Lady Seraphine's champion, and I truly am her priestess." Katianna told him with a kindred smile, "Allow me to show you her mark." She raised the back of her left hand, revealing the glowing mark of Seraphine.

I blinked, as I realized I hadn't known where Seraphine's mark was on Katianna, but I suppose I never chose to look for it on her despite how obvious the position was. It wasn't long till I tuned back in and saw that the priestess was sending me a pointed look.

"Raphael, show him your mark as well." She gestured to the now-pale guard.

"Right, sorry." I unequipped my kevlar vest and lifted up my shirt, revealing the goddess's mark above my heart.

The guard gaped before he dropped to one knee, "I-I'm so sorry my lord and lady! Please forgive me for my doubts!" His attitude made a complete one-eighty. "I-I did not know that our goddess had made someone her new champion."

"He became Lady Seraphine's champion quite recently, and news of it hasn't spread far enough for any city to hear of it quite yet." Katianna sent the man an amused smile, "But I'm sure you're going to be spreading the word of our arrival."

He rose, now standing straighter than before with a sheepish expression, "Of course my lady, the arrival of not only the priestess but the champion of our goddess is something that cannot be kept secret, allow me to open the gate for your party."

The guard moved back inside the gatehouse, and it wasn't long until the portcullis slowly rose, prompting Katianna and I to return to our horses. Mounting Constable with little trouble, I nudged the horse forward, with Rosalina having wrapped her arms around me again. Bypassing the first portcullis, it began closing as all of us entered, and the secondary gate opened outwards, appearing to be made mostly of timber reinforced with metal - likely iron or steel.

Two soldiers greeted us once the gate fully opened, and they bowed respectfully at our approach. I suppose I'll have to get used to having Furoreans bowing or kneeling at my presence due to being Seraphine's champion. Gaia knows how Rosalina would feel about being shown such respect and/or reverence.

The sight of the city on the other hand was breathtaking, for such a place to be built with a primitive technological level is astonishing. The path we stood on was laden with stone and buildings lined its sides, not to mention the number of people that moved to and fro on the paths. To say that the city was packed is an understatement, it was overcrowded with refugees coming from across the kingdom and it was clear that there was no living space left for these unfortunate souls, if any was arranged for them at all.

"It's so... crowded..." Rosalina muttered behind me in awe. "I've never seen so many people in one place at once."

"Is it not what you imagined?" I asked her, looking at a family of four, the obvious father of the family was begging anyone that passed him for coin to support his family, and there were similar situations all down along the road. "Cause it certainly isn't for me."

I hadn't expected for the capital city to be so overcrowded, it's clear that the Perrosians had pushed deep into Furorean territory, no doubt forcing many from small villages or towns to retreat to the safety of the walled cities. The people had my sympathy, and once the war is over it's likely that many of their homes would be destroyed or completely looted by bandits or Perrosian soldiers, if not worse.

" _Too many people..._ " She mumbled, burying her head into my back, prompting me to chuckle at her embarrassment.

"I get what you mean, but hopefully Tenebrae isn't all like this." Our group moved through the flow of the crowd, the two guards that met us at the gate forced the people to part ways for us. "Besides, if you don't like the crowds then now is the time to get used to it Rosa, can't always be afraid to be surrounded by strangers."

!

I jolted as she jabbed her fingers into my sides, almost making me lose control of Constable's reins, "I'm not afraid Raphael!" I could already see her angry pout being directed towards the back of my head. "I'm just... not used to it..."

"S-Sure Rosa, whatever you say." I still teased, and I received another jab to my side, almost forcing Constable into a group of people to our right. "Alright alright! I'll stop now, don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Good..." She murmured, and she went back to laying her head on my back.

The two soldiers that cleared our path led us further up the road, and the special treatment we received only served to garner the attention of the civilians around us. They've already began speaking to one another in hushed whispers, trying and failing to discretely point at us. Rosalina shifted slightly on my back, burying her head further in at all the attention we were receiving.

Ignoring all the stares, I looked further ahead and saw that the capital had a secondary wall, although smaller, seemed to look sturdier than the previous one I had seen outside. Which was strange, all the infrastructure that was around me in a city of such size likely took decades to develop and grow to what it is today, the secondary wall is likely a recent addition to the capital's defenses in light of the ongoing war.

At our approach, we faced a gate that had already began to raise for us, and I've noticed that the secondary wall had far more soldiers stationed upon it than the outer wall, arrow slits from the wall's towers revealed several arrowheads already peaking out of them. What few guards that were visible to me wore far more superior armor than the ones that were currently leading us, instead of simple chain mail armor and kettle helmets the ones on the inner wall wore what were clearly steel cuirasses and bascinets. One such guard met us at the gate, a crossbow being visibly seen over her shoulder.

"This is as far as we can lead you." One of the two guards told us, "My lord and lady, it's been a great honor."

The soldier with the crossbow stepped up, "I shall take over from here, it is best that we continue towards his Majesty the King with all due haste, but I cannot allow anyone but the priestess and champion of Seraphine an audience with him, so I ask that they wait in the quarters they shall be provided. Surely this is no problem for my lord and lady?"

News certainly traveled fast from one wall to the one before us, but I suppose that we do warrant an immediate response considering not one but two of us represent Seraphine on the mortal plane. Still, it's surprising that there was as fast a response as this, considering that we headed straight here after we entered through the main entrance.

"It's no problem, but we do have to get rid of some prisoners of ours." I told her, gesturing to the two bound bandits. "We managed to capture them on our way to the capital, I'm sure that you can ensure that justice be done to them."

"Of course my lord, it will be done." She nodded, turning towards the guards that had led us here, "You two, take the prisoners to the prison to be dealt with."

They bowed, moving forward to take the prisoners from the horses, dragging them up to their feet and pushing the two away from us. The bandits submitted to it easily, clearly having no will left in them to resist after being forced to travel days with minimal daily necessities. I'm glad that they're finally gone though, they were nothing more than burdens on our journey, but justice will be done to them soon enough.

"If that is all, let us head in and have the rest of your party inside their quarters." She turned towards the gate, waving us through with a gloved hand, and I took the moment to cast Observe on her for some snippets of information.

 **Name: Alenya Osteler  
** **Race: Human  
Class: Arbalist (+5 AGI)  
Age: 31**

 **Level: 42**

 **Title: (None)**

 **HP (Health Points): 8,700/8,700 (2,900 HP regeneration per minute)  
** **MP (Mana Points): 3,150/3,150 (1,000 MP regeneration per minute)** **  
**

 **STR (Strength): 34  
** **VIT (Vitality): 29** **(300 HP per point, 100 HP regeneration per point)  
** **AGI (Agility): 36 (36+5=41)  
** **INT (Intelligence): 21** **(150 MP per point)  
** **WIS (Wisdom): 19** **(100 MP regeneration per point)  
** **CHR (Charisma): 14  
** **LUC (Luck): 4**

 **Description: Alenya Osteler was born in the Furorean city of Svellos, raised by two mothers that served as women-at-arms for the city's garrison and an artisan for a father. She was taught discipline and honor, slowly adopting a more militaristic lifestyle as she looked up to her mothers throughout most of her childhood. At the age of sixteen she would enlist in Svellos' military forces, first serving as a courier then being assigned to the city's garrison at eighteen. It was there that her skill with the crossbow would shine through, uncommon and expensive as they may be, she would receive a custom-made one from her parents at nineteen. When it was decided that Alenya's skills would be put to better use in the field, she would be sent on patrols outside the city, racking up eighty-nine kills throughout the years before being deployed to the capital at the onset of the Furore-Perrosian War.**

It was interesting to know that I was a mere six levels below the soldier, and that this was quite possibly the first person I've used Observe on that didn't have a title to their stats. Not only that, she had more of a focus on agility and strength than me whereas I had more points than her in intelligence and wisdom - which I slowly began to realize that it covered magical capabilities rather than the actual intelligence of an individual. Still, that could easily change as I do have a great amount of skill points unused from all of my leveling, enough to raise each stat by twenty-five points.

As soon as we were through, the gate closed behind us with a loud slam, but the sight of this new section of the capital before us drew my amazement. Extravagant buildings lined the road, a far cry from the buildings that were seen in the outer sections of Tenebrae, the manors and villas made it clear that the wealthy lived in this part of the city. There was also a far greater number of soldiers walking about, but not all of them wore the same coat of arms associated with that of Furore's national army, they likely came from a noble's own levies or as a wealthy merchant's guard.

"I've never seen buildings like this in person..." Rosalina said in awe, "This is where we're going to be staying Raphael?"

"For now, probably." I shrugged, since I'll be heading for the front lines as soon as possible, and I'm not sure if I wanted her to stay behind. "Do you want a home here Rosa? It's definitely safer here than anywhere else in Furore..."

"A-Are you sure?" She asked with a bit of uncertainty, "It must be expensive to own a manor like these ones, isn't it?"

"I'm sure I can afford it Rosa, you don't have to concern yourself with costs, just let me worry about that." I'm sure the pricing on a manor or villa is something I can afford easily, hopefully, since I have the equivalent of three hundred fifty-one and a half gold coins waiting to be used.

"If you say so..."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence once more, but it wasn't long till something else drew my attention. That being the locals who gave us looks that were far more discrete than the gazes of those in the outer areas. Although I shouldn't be surprised since it's expected for aristocrats to be well-versed in the acts of subtlety and social norms. I could be misinterpreting it, considering that we were dressed in what would appear as a strange variety of clothes to them.

Eventually, the guardswoman led us to a stop in front of one of the larger manors I've seen in the area, boasting an impressive three sections. I know for sure that I wouldn't want this for my home, I'd most likely get lost in it.

"Here is where your companions will be staying Lady Nix, Lord D'Angelo." She gestured towards the mansion. "The servants here will attend to their needs, you needn't worry about them, you may also leave behind your horses, it is a short walk away to the palace."

"Alright Rosa, it's time to get off." Swinging my legs over Constable and landing on my feet, I helped Rosalina dismount. "You'll be staying here for the time being, but I'll be back soon, maybe this'll give you time to get used to living like a noble."

"O-Oh?" She tilted her head curiously, "We'll live like nobles from now on Raphael?"

"Of course we will, I've certainly got the money to support that claim." I hope. "Besides, I'm sure you'd like to have some books here that weren't available to you back at Kyros. Maybe a few books on magic spells, if those happen to be around here."

Her eyes widened in excitement, "Really-!?" She cut herself off with a groan, holding a hand to her temple. "M-My head..."

I was at her side in an instant, "Rosa, are you alright?" If what I think is happening to her is happening, then I fear my meeting with the king will have to wait.

She waved me off, a dazed look in her eyes. "I...I'm fine, just a small headache, don't worry about me Raphael. Don't keep the king waiting any longer for my own sake."

I was skeptical of course, and I wasn't exactly eager to leave Rosalina by herself with her health in such a precarious state. I'm sure that she'd force me to go anyhow, seeing how she crossed her arms under her bust along with the stubborn look on her face.

"If you're sure Rosa..." She sent me a look that would brook no further argument, and I acquiesced. "Alright alright, I won't press the matter anymore, but please, stay safe."

Her arms returned to their sides as she gave me a small smile, "I will Raphael, don't worry about me." She shooed me away as she began unloading her pack from Constable.

Turning towards Hal and the Recon Marines, I found that they had already dismounted their horses and stood there, as if though waiting for my orders. They already knew they wouldn't be accompanying me to king's palace. Still, I suppose it'd be best to have them remain with Rosalina and Rhea, despite how useful they'd be with information gathering instead.

"Hal, Alpha-One, Bravo-Two, follow and protect Rosalina, follow her commands as well as long as they don't conflict with my standing orders." I told them, and they nodded in return, already beginning to move towards their charge.

With that matter taken care of, I saw Katianna speaking with Rhea, in the moment of finishing up the last bits of their conversation. As Rhea turned away, she saw and sent me a single nod, before walking towards the manor. Although I was curious as to what their conversation was about, I didn't want to pry into what was clearly their own personal business.

"Raphael," Katianna greeted with a wave, her white robe appearing more pristine than it had ever been during our trip, as if though it wasn't dirtied at all during that time. "Are you ready to meet royalty?"

Never had I imagined that I'd ever be meeting royalty but I suppose I was as prepared as I could possibly get. "As ready as one can be Katianna..." I responded, uncertain how I should act or behave in front of a king.

"Please follow me, my lord and lady." The arbalist stepped forward, "His Majesty is awaiting your arrival."

She spun around, beginning to move at a marching speed, forcing us to follow after her before we could say a word. Not that I had any objections, considering that it wasn't wise to keep a person of such great status waiting for too long. Eventually we began seeing less of the richly dressed and more of Furore's armed forces, which wasn't all that surprising considering that we were heading toward's the king's palace.

"How much do you know of Lenard IV, Raphael?" Katianna asked as we walked side-by-side, "Since you aren't exactly from Furore, _or Terros for that matter..._ " She seemed to have muttered that last bit to herself.

I shrugged, "Not much honestly, I've only heard about him through word of mouth, but I can piece together that the man's a champion of the people - I think, with the information I have. Although said information isn't much to go on to begin with..."

"I've met him before, even though he had just been a newborn babe then, I was there to give him the blessing of Lady Seraphine." Right, Katianna's lived far longer than the average human lifespan, and has probably lived through a few kings and queens. "I saw the kindred soul that he had, though it may have shaped and changed over the years, I am certain that it is still there despite all that has happened, nonetheless I suppose this will be the first time that we both will meet the king."

"Well, you're the expert on the matters of the soul, so I'll take your word for it."

Now I saw only soldiers patrolling the area as we began to enter a more fortified section of Tenebrae, and as we walked past a line of trebuchets I saw for myself what the palace truly looked like. There was nothing grand about it, if anything it was designed to be a fortress, as it appeared to be the third and last wall of Tenebrae's defensive lines. In contrast to the secondary wall's recently built appearance, the palace's looked fairly old but sturdy enough to withstand a siege should it ever come to that. I can certainly appreciate the royalty's choice of their seat of power, instead of taking a gaudy building with the intent of impressing the nobility they made a stronghold instead.

Very noticeably next to the palace was one of the spires I saw from outside, and it seemed to emit a blue glow from within. The structure had no windows or any openings for that matter aside from the cracks in the stone, craning my neck to find the top of the spire my eyes found what appeared to be a blue crystal jutting out from the sides.

"Katianna..." I called her offhandedly, still staring at the crystal. "What do you think that is?"

She hummed, "I'm not sure but it appears to be a... mana crystal." The surprise was easily heard in her voice, "It clearly has a great deal of mana stored within it... I hadn't mentioned it before but I did feel it long before we reached Tenebrae, I dismissed it as a slight disturbance."

Really now? The spire had enough magic in it for Katianna to sense it at long distances, and I can't feel anything from it right now, but I shouldn't be surprised considering I don't exactly have a complete grasp of magic. Despite that, I can at least assume the mana crystal has some sort of purpose, perhaps as a weapon that solely fires magic spells, or a 'recharging station' of sorts for the mages in Furore's service.

Nonetheless it didn't require my immediate attention, as we neared a reinforced gate, which was watched over by four soldiers wielding short swords and heater shields with the same armor that our guide wore. The four of them bowed in unison and the two closest to the entrance pushed open the gate, allowing us through with no complications. Moving through, it was a simple field of grass that surrounded the path leading to another reinforced door which our guide opened without stopping her gait. Entering the fortress I bore witness to more than a few decorations that lined the walls, portraits of what were likely the former rulers of Furore went down to the end of the hall, each painted to almost realistic perfection.

Of course Katianna probably saw all of these displays before as she did say she was here for the birth of King Lenard IV. The red carpet we walked on seemed rather nice too, I noted absently, keeping my thoughts busy.

The soldier stopped stopped in front of a pair of double doors, turning to us. "His Majesty awaits your arrival ahead." She told us, before opening the doors and standing to the side. "It is best not to keep him waiting any further."

"My thanks for leading us here." I sent her a nod, which she returned.

"It is of no consequence, my lord." She gestured towards the throne room with a bow, "If you would?"

Walking forward with all the grace I could muster - which was practically none - I was met with the sight of a great hall that stretched out a great distance, with banners hanging down from the ceiling on both sides of the hall in between the pillars that supported the structure. In the middle of such a large area was a table of massive size with a great deal of chairs to go with it. It was beyond that I saw the person who could only be identified as King Lenard IV, given what was likely a purple silk cloak embroidered with gold and lined with ermine fur along with the obvious crown on his head.

There was also the fact that there were at least twenty soldiers, if not more, stationed around the hall in locations that would put them at an advantageous position should an attack ever occur. Ignoring that, I fell into step beside Katianna, and the aged appearance of the king became much more noticeable on our approach. His hair was mostly gray but there was evidence that he once had black hair, and the crown he wore covered the rest. He had few wrinkles, and his pale blue eyes stared at us with a tired gaze.

"Welcome, priestess and champion..." He spoke, his voice gruff, holding a degree of weariness to it.

Katianna bowed before the dais, and I mirrored the action, seeing that it would be best to let her take the lead. I rose with her, standing straight, giving me the opportunity to examine the two noticeable people that stood on either side of the king.

One of them stood to the left and wore what were clearly gray robes, not too dissimilar from Katianna's actually, a cowl hid most of his facial features and what was visible was a brown beard. If I were to hazard a guess I'd assume that the man is the king's own mage. The other one was a woman on the right, clad in full black plate armor, a helmet clipped to one side of her hip with a sword sheathed on the other. The woman's black hair was pulled into a tight bun, she held a neutral expression as she stared at us.

"I am honored to have you here today." My attention was drawn back towards the king as he spoke, "Though I wish it were under better circumstances..."

"The honor is all ours your majesty, Lady Seraphine has seen it fit for us to intervene." Katianna responded respectfully, "Though I am sure you haven't heard of her most recent champion?"

The king's eyes swept towards me, "Very recently..." I held his gaze, "Raphael, was it?"

"Raphael D'Angelo." I answered with a short bow. "At your service your majesty."

He said nothing, merely staring at me, and it was a bit unnerving to be honest. Nonetheless, I stared back against the steely gaze directed towards me, despite how long it felt I wouldn't break eye contact with the king. To flinch away is to show hesitation to him, and I wouldn't, not only for the sake of my position but as a matter of upholding the expectation placed upon me as Seraphine's champion.

To my surprise, he laughed, "You certainly hold the look of a soldier!"

Well... I certainly hadn't expected that sort of reaction, but the fact that I look like a soldier while being the champion of Seraphine, a goddess of peace, would no doubt bring discomfort to some.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Were this under different circumstances, no, but strange times are upon us and a soldier being our goddess' champion is the least of our problems." The smile on his face faded, and he sighed wearily. "Unfortunately, soldiers are perhaps what we need most in these dire times."

"You may hold the look of the soldier, but to see if you act and fight like one remains to be seen." The woman that was on the king's right spoke, "The last champion to claim to be a warrior was... unskilled, and let us say that his duty as champion did not last long."

The king sent her a stern look over his shoulder, "General, I am sure that Raphael's skills are not in doubt, our people need hope and the arrival of a new champion of our goddess will provide the beacon we so desperately need."

"Of course, I merely wish for the best for our people, but I do not want someone who could cause far more trouble than they are worth." I won't fault the woman for that, if our positions were reversed I'd share the same doubts as her. "But I will give him the benefit of a doubt, my king."

"Thank you General, that is all I ask of you." He nodded at her before turning back towards me, "Tell me Raphael, is our goddess prepared to interfere in this war?"

I hesitated, though I speak and act on behalf of Seraphine as her champion I'm not sure I could fully interpret what she truly want-

" _ **I am fully prepared Raphael, worry not about me, merely bringing peace back to Furore is all I ask for.**_ "

Right... though Seraphine speaks to me due to her recently being granted full access to my mind, I'm still slightly surprised whenever she chooses to speak.

"Without a doubt, she is." I nodded, and I could've sworn I heard her say something in the recesses of my mind. "As prepared as she can be, Your Highness."

"I understand..." He turned about, facing away from us. "Then I am grateful for your presence, as well as yours, Lady Nix. General Velade will take it from here, and inform you of our current predicament."

Said woman stepped forward as the king walked back to his throne, a hand on the hilt of her sword. As she came closer I noticed the color of her eyes were a hazel brown, and from what's been said and seen from her it's likely that she has a very serious personality, but that was a guess.

"If you could follow me, I shall show you the current state of the war." She turned around, going off to the right of the throne, and we followed. "I can say that it is not going in our favor at the very least."

There was a door I hadn't seen earlier, likely due to how far back it was behind the throne, but it apparently led to a separate section of the palace as General Velade showed us. What was behind the door was clearly the war room, considering the number of maps hung on the walls, especially in the center of the room where the largest map laid, documents and scrolls were scattered along its surface. Not to mention several people already present in the room going over the maps, only giving us a brief glance and a nod towards the general before going back to their work.

She led us to the table in the center, the map clearly showing the entirety of Furore, lines were drawn, and the map was covered in blue and red flags likely indicating either Furorean or Perrosian-controlled territory.

"The blue is our own, the red being that of Perros'. As you can see, our lines are being pushed back." The general sighed, before a soldier burst into the room from a separate door, urgency evident in his steps.

The soldier bowed before standing up, "General, this came in from the front!" He passed her a scroll from a satchel on his side, and she unfurled it, reading it silently.

She grimaced as she read it, "I see..." She muttered to herself, before furling the scroll back up. "You may continue your duties soldier."

He nodded, before running back out the door, likely to pass on more messages.

"What was that?" I asked as she leaned against the table, placing the scroll down beside her.

She looked up, grim-faced. "A report from the front, we've lost Castle Fasyr and four thousand men and women against a force of twenty thousand." She turned around and faced the table, removing one of the blue flags on the map and replacing it with a red one. "Lady Fasyr and all of her closest kin present were lost with it, that noble house will never be the same..."

I winced, a loss for Furore, and I couldn't find a response to that. The loss of a noble house sounds devastating, alongside four thousand of Furore's own forces makes it worse.

"I do hope that you surely have a means to help us win this war, champion, priestess." She almost sounded desperate under that stoic facade. "Our problems do not end there, the coffers are suffering as well, there is a shortage of food, trade with Cairose has been disrupted since the beginning of the war and I fear that they may make a move against us but they lack casus belli."

Furore's problems seem to be piling up, and I'm concerned that I may have to interfere more than necessary. I'll have to use everything at my disposal if worse comes to worst. The armaments on the _Venerable Crusader_ will have to be a last resort, exposure to the firepower of the futuristic technology will leave more questions than answers.

"I will do my very best to help, and I _will_ help you win this war general." I affirmed, losing is not an option. "Send me to the front lines, surely my presence as Seraphine's champion would raise morale at the very least?"

She nodded without an ounce of hesitation, "That was what I had originally planned alongside His Majesty when we had first heard of a new champion, but he feared that you would be lost in battle should you enter the war and that would serve to break morale across the entire army." The burden I bear felt heavier at that bit of news. "I disagree with him... but he is not wrong, should you fall in combat then morale would diminish to nothing across the front, which is why I wished to test you combat earlier and still wish to do so now."

"Alright, then let's get it over with, every second wasted is a second the Perrosians get closer to Tenebrae." I turned towards the priestess beside me, "And while I'm at it, are you going to come with me to the front Katianna? I'm sure your presence there would be a boost to morale as well."

Katianna hummed, "A healer might be needed to help the injured, so I will move to the front with you, there is no need for me here after all. Not quite yet."

"There's no need for me to test Lady Nix in combat, I am well aware of her reputation as a healer and mage." General Velade spoke up, "It is you who I must test Raphael, I've no idea of your capabilities, and that is what I am concerned about first and foremost."

Right... I'm still a new factor in this war, a complete unknown to the knowledge of the people of Furore and Terros as a whole. Well, perhaps barring that of Seraphine and Katianna.

" _ **Oh I know everything Raphael, and your world is quite intriguing... but the way your people wage war is horrifying, not to mention the destructive capabilities of your weapons.**_ " I heard the goddess speak in my mind, " ** _Katianna knows your world as I do, but not as much._** "

I see then...

"Shall we start your trial by combat then, Raphael?" I was drawn back in as the general spoke again. "Or perhaps you need a weapon to fight me first?"

"No no, let's do this now." Ah, I don't have my weapons on me right now, but plenty of the locals have been exposed to firearms already that it's far too late to keep it hidden any longer. "Don't worry about my weapons."

She nodded, looking at me, unconvinced. "Very well, follow me out this way then." She gestured towards the door that the messenger came through earlier. "There's a field which my own soldiers use for practice." The general walked out said door, and we followed her once more.

I looked to Katianna as we passed by several men and women in extravagant clothing, "You've been awfully quiet these past few moments Katianna... Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head, "All is well Raphael, I've always stayed in silence and away from our lady's worshipers, I'm just simply not silent with you."

"And is that a good thing?" Katianna has been mischievous for as long as I've been with her - short as that time may be, - imagining her to be mostly silent at times is an image I can't see in my head. "Silence doesn't seem to be your thing."

She stifled a laugh, "With you Raphael? No, silence is not my 'thing' as you put it, these are interesting times and I feel as if though great change is coming with it. Which means that I too must change, your arrival is an added factor of that."

"Really? How drastic of a change are we talking about here Katianna?" I sent her a curious look, to which I received her trademark coy smile.

"Come now Raphael, I know of your... ship in the skies." She elaborated, and I winced. "The weapons you wield are concerning of course, but I have faith that you will not misuse such power."

"Right, I forgot that you now know much more about me since I... let Seraphine into my soul and body." I chastised myself for underestimating how much both Katianna and Seraphine knew from my memories, even after the latter had told me as such. "But I can't make any promises, I have to use whatever resources I have at my disposal for peace, even if it has to be through force of arms."

Her smile seemed to dim at my words, "Is there no way to persuade you from this course of action? Surely less blood can be shed through words, and not action?" She sent me an almost-despondent look.

"Katianna, I-" My response was cut short as I nearly bumped into the general, who had stopped in front of a pair of doors, likely leading to the courtyard considering the sunlight beaming through the cracks. "We'll have to continue this conversation some other time."

General Velade faced us, "I'm sure you do not mind having an audience to witness our fight, many of my warriors cannot resist such an appealing show."

"I don't mind it, in fact, I welcome the audience." I sent her a confident look, "I'm sure they'd appreciate a battle between soldiers as a boost to their morale."

It was all false bravado, I don't know what I'm up against and I could easily be put into the ground, which reminded me to cast Observe on the fair general.

 **Name: Alesandra Velade  
** **Race: Human  
Class: General (+25 CHR, +50 Lvl. Leadership)  
Age: 34**

 **Level: (?)**

 **Title: Lioness of Furore - This title has been given to you for your skill and ferocity in battle, tested in the flames of war you've been unmatched by none barring those who share your martial prowess. +75 REP to Furorean People, -25 REP to Foes**

...I'm going to eat the dirt.

It was clear that facing Alesandra in combat would - at best - last a minute by my estimations. Although I expected her to be a skilled warrior, I certainly hadn't expected her to be a hundred levels above me. I have to be thankful for the usefulness of Observe, without it I would have walked into this battle unprepared for my ass to be handed to me, knowing what I'm facing certainly makes me all the more ready to accept defeat with resignation.

However, I've faced opponents that held the advantage over me before, during my trials after I had died and when I had faced Velyn Kurst. I simply used the resources at my disposal to turn the tables on them, although I don't have any of the A3M with me this time I still have modern technology and the weapons that came from the Hub on hand.

She sent me an amused smile, "We'll see if it'll be a battle."

The courtyard was filled with men and women training with a variety of weapons or physical activities, they sparred with swords, sent arrows downrange into stationary targets, or grouped up in formations.

Those closest to the door quickly went at attention at the sight of their general, to which she returned with a formal salute of her own. It wasn't long till we were gathering more of a crowd around us as we walked onward. I would say that at least three scores of soldiers followed us by the time Alesandra stopped, a circle was drawn into the ground around us and the soldiers formed loosely around us. Katianna had stayed out of the circle, the soldiers around her respectfully giving her a wide berth as she watched from the sidelines.

"Stand over there." Alesandra instructed, pointing over to one end of the small arena. "Are you sure you do not need a weapon Raphael?"

Moving into position I shook my head, "I'm fine general, like I've said before I have weapons of my own."

She shrugged, placing on her helmet. "Very well then Raphael, ready yourself, I will not be holding back." She drew her sword from its scabbard, "This battle will be ended once first blood is drawn or if either of us surrenders to the other."

I nodded to show that I understood and I drew my weapons of choice, Crowd Control and Caerulus Mors appeared in my hands, drawing many surprised looks from the crowd and likely the general's too, but I couldn't tell with her helmet on. The pairing of weapons I chose weren't exactly ideal but they'd have to do for now, I was confident in my shield's ability to absorb any blows but I was more concerned with my abilities with the blade.

Sure I've used Caerulus Mors before, but it was against targets that didn't wield swords themselves, even then I was relying on the weapon's Ice Sprite to cause more damage than the blade itself.

Nonetheless I shifted into a stance that I thought was suitable, shield upfront and sword over it, purely defensive against someone of Alesandra's caliber. Said woman simply brought her sword into a two-handed grip close to her head in response.

!

Without warning she bounded forward, crossing the gap between us in moments and I hastily raised my shield in respon-

"Shit!"

I was sent back, the force of the blow jarring my arm and I winced at the feeling. I didn't get a moment of recovery as she was on me again, blow after blow striking Crowd Control, each hit making me take a single step back until I was at the very edge of the circle.

Digging my feet into the grass, I blindly lashed out with Caerulus Mors, hoping for it to connect to pay for all the blows I received. Instead, what I got in return was a thwack and a sharp sensation of pain in my wrist, forcing me to drop the sword.

Hissing in anger I brought back my arm, likely hit with the flat of Alesandra's blade being the cause, and it hurt like a bitch. As our audience jeered and I took every attack from the general as best I could, I realized I had forgotten about one of Crowd Control's functions.

 _Bang!_

There were shouts of alarm and confusion of those who were on the receiving end of the flashbang function, including General Velade. Look over Crowd Control I saw that Alesandra was disoriented, and seizing the advantage while I could I ran straight towards her, picking up Caerulus Mors in my path.

Closing in, I brought down my sword, aiming for her shoulde-

-Only to be rebuffed as Alesandra parried the blade, somewhat clumsily but was still warded off nonetheless.

Seeing that my advantage was slipping I brought Crowd Control about again hoping to leave her disoriented once more.

At my action she reacted far quicker, having recovered from the effects of the flashbang function, with a greave she kicked the shield out of my hand with enough strength to send me flying along with it had I not let go of it first.

Stumbling back and raising Caerulus Mors into what meager defense I could muster I had no time to react to Alesandra's blade flashing forward.

The enchanted blade flew from my hands a second time, landing too far for me to ever reach it without facing the consequences, and my shield was even further than that.

In the blink of an eye the tip of her sword was at my throat before I could even draw another weapon from my inventory, and I raised my hands in surrender.

The slight pressure she applied was enough to draw blood, which I flinched at, as my Mana Shield was supposed to take all the hits for me.

"Do you yield?" She asked, her voice coming out clear despite wearing that helmet of hers, and she pushed her sword just a little further into my neck.

Seeing no choice in the matter, I submitted.

The pressure was relieved as she withdrew, and I released a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. Alesandra's blade hung loosely on her side as she stepped back and the crowd was cheering loudly at the outcome of the battle.

The general took off her helmet, "Your skills are... adequate, I certainly hadn't expected enchanted weapons such as yours and that spell was impressive as well. It would've worked on any one of my soldiers but unfortunately for you not against myself, I've faced foes with similar magic."

That definitely explains how she recovered from it fast enough then, assuming she's talking about Crowd Control's function. However, it sounds like there's a magical equivalent to it and I'd certainly like to be prepared for such a spell in existence.

With a slight groan from sorely tested bones, I went to collect my sword and shield.

Our audience had dispersed moments after our duel had ended, and a few lingered - including Katianna - possibly to see anymore action. Well, they're going to be disappointed because I'm not going to go through another one-sided battle. Not to mention it felt like she was pulling her punches, which worked out in my favor since I would've come out in an even worse condition had she been using all of her strength. I shivered slightly as I picked up my sword, I had even asked her to hold _nothing_ back.

Katianna approached, offering me Crowd Control. "Are you alright Raphael?"

After placing Caerulus Mors in my inventory, I took the shield by its grip, feeling the familiar weight on my arm once more.

"I'm fine, I'll probably just have a few bruises." I shrugged at her concern, and winced at the feeling in my shield arm. "I've had worse, believe me."

She frowned slightly, gently laying a hand on my shoulder. "It is not that I don't believe you, I'm aware that you've been in battle before, it's that I'm concerned for your well-being."

"Katianna, please, I'm fine." I was about to brush off her hand before a warm and soothing sensation went down my arm. "Did you-?"

"Don't fret Raphael, a little healing would do to ease your pains, and expending a small amount of my mana is of no consequence." I was going to argue but a stern look from her forced me to do otherwise.

Alesandra appeared from over my shoulder, "Are your injuries so dire that you require healing?"

"General," Katianna spoke before I could, "I made the decision to heal Raphael myself, please, there is no need to create such a fuss over it."

"There is no need to coddle him, and that is all I'm merely stating, the champion needs to be accustomed with such pain." The general continued coolly, and I took offense at that. "I respect you and what your position represents but he has yet to prove himself worthy of his position."

"He has proven himself, tales of his deeds have not spread far but they are certainly great enough to grant him the renown he deserves." Katianna defended, and I wondered about what deeds I had done to earn myself recognition, was she referring to Velyn Kurst? "Greatest among his achievements was battling a daemon of terrible power when it had attacked Lady Seraphine's temple."

Oh...?

"So the rumors were true? The temple had fallen to a daemonic attack?" The general frowned, looking at me in a new light. "And you say Raphael had fought the daemon responsible?"

Zal'Tenzhun, the name of the very daemon that I hadn't even tried to fight, giving that honor to the temple guard who sacrificed herself to stall it while the rest of her comrades and I escaped. I could only hope that Sylva made a steady recovery in the days that have gone by, someone of her selflessness would be a saddening loss to Seraphine's own people. For Katianna to so easily tell Alesandra that I had fought the daemon on even grounds was surprising in of itself, and the memory of the daemon gave me slight shivers.

"Yes, and he had managed to ward it off, though not without leaving a great deal of the temple devastated from the daemon's attacks." She lied easily, as if though it had actually happened. "I'm afraid the foul creature is still loose upon Furore."

Alesandra frowned at that tidbit of information, "I'm well informed of the daemonic attacks on our lands, but nothing so massive as the daemon you've described. It appears we have to begin preparing our towns and cities further from such unholy beings."

She looked back to me, "There's more to you than it seems Raphael, but I still hold doubts. Nonetheless, I shall have the two of you escorted back to your new holdings, I need to make use of this new information." She waved over the closest of her soldiers, which had happened to be our previous guide, Alenya. "Have them returned to Asilas Manor."

Alenya nodded, giving the general a crisp salute. "It shall be done my lady."

"This is farewell for now, but I shall be watching you closely champion." Alesandra said to me, and sending Katianna a respectful nod. "Priestess."

"If you'll follow me, my lord and lady." Alenya spoke up, already next to and opening the door leading back into the hold.

We followed her out, though I did send the general one last look, she was already busying herself by ordering her troops back into their drills. That was the last I saw of her before the scenery changed to that of finely-made tapestries and pedestals holding delicate objects.

Katianna fell into step alongside me as I looked about, and I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say.

"Raphael, we still have not finished speaking about your weapons of war." She said delicately, and I paused briefly before continuing to walk. "This is a matter I cannot ignore as a priestess of peace, and we shall have words once we are away from prying eyes."

"Can't say I look forward to it..." I muttered, mostly to myself, and if she heard me she gave no indication of it.

...

Our walk back was a silent one, and I took the opportunity to absorb everything around me. There were still noblemen and women sending furtive glances at us, those expressions were a mix of awe and suspicion. A few of those expressions were full of downright hostility, for what reason, I don't care about. I never had the stomach for politics, it's mostly a maze of those seeking to further their own ends at the expense of others.

I sighed as we left the palace's perimeter, where there was a greater concentration of soldiers, a sight I could respect more than the people garbed in gaudy attire. The Furorean soldiers were far more professional, at least by the standards here I suppose.

They were in the process of bolstering the already-formidable defenses of the wall, moving to and fro carrying sacks of arrows and javelins. The larger variety of ammunition was being moved by carts, tugged by overworked horses. I did notice that there was a great quantity of ballistas being lugged around, some with interesting modifications, deployed in strategic points. Unfortunately I didn't stick around long enough to observe whatever else they had to bring to arms.

...

We eventually arrived back at the manor after several more minutes of walking, where we had passed several more entourages of the merchantmen and women of Furore. It was interesting to know that there was still some amount of trade being done in the city despite the war raging on so close.

Nonetheless, Alenya dismissed herself after stopping at the manor's entrance, returning to normal patrols alongside her comrades. As she marched away, the manor's doors opened from within, and the maid responsible reeled back in surprise before recovering to curtsy.

"M-My lord and lady!" She bowed her head, stepping aside to allow us entrance. "Welcome back."

I sent the maid a sidelong glance as we moved into the lavish building, as I don't know how I feel about having a servant. She was rather short, far shorter than anyone in my party, we were quite taller than average though so I won't fault her for that. Her appearance was... normal as well, brown hair tied into a neat bun with equally brown eyes. Dressed in a simplistic maid outfit to match her position too.

"Thank you." Katianna responded with a smile. "And you are?"

"Alisone Corniel." She kept her head low submissively. "I am at your service for as long as you may require me."

"Rise Alisone, there's no need for you to be so respectful, Raphael and I are hardly of the noble class." She placed a hand on her shoulder, "You may address me as Priestess Nix, and Raphael as Champion D'Angelo. Though it is shorter and more convenient to refer to both of us as lord and lady I suppose."

She hesitated, confusion in her stance as she rose. "...Thank you, my lady." Katianna waved her hand dismissively at her thanks.

The maid turned towards me, "My lord, I have dire news for you."

I've a bad feeling about this...

"One of your... companions, I believe it was Rosalina, she's currently..." She looked away as I began to worry. "It is best that you see her for yourself my lord."

"Take me to her now." I ordered more than requested, and I sent Katianna a questioning look. "Are you...?"

"I am, I have a feeling I know what ails Rosalina." She nodded with a frown. "If I'm right, then we must hurry."

The maid led us out of the foyer and moved as quickly as possible without running. I paid no mind to the architecture and decorations of the manor, as I was far too worried about Rosalina's well-being to put much thought into my surroundings. She led us through several halls and up to the second floor of the manor before I finally spotted the room where I assumed Rosalina to be.

Alpha-One and Bravo-Two stood at either side of an ornate door, both of them standing at attention with their rifles slung. They moved aside at our approach, and the maid opened the door for us, stepping inside and holding it.

I moved inside quickly, and at the center of the room lie a king-sized bed. On the bed, buried underneath layers of blankets was Rosalina, being tended to by two maids while I spotted Hal leaning against a wall from the corner of my eye and he sent me a nod.

The two maids bowed their heads at our arrival before continuing to assist the bedridden-Rosalina. In several strides I was at her side in an instant, and my worry intensified tenfold at her comatose state.

Behind the sheen of sweat, her face was pale, and she made several pained looks of anguish in her unconsciousness. I moved aside to allow the maids do their jobs, letting them peel away the layers of sheets to wipe away the accumulating perspiration on her body before reapplying the blankets.

Katianna was on the other side of the bed moments after me, concern etched onto her face at the sight of Rosalina. She tentatively reached a hand out to Rosalina, but hesitated, uncertainty being something I haven't seen in the priestess... at all.

"What are you doing?" I questioned Katianna, and she looked at me with her hand still out.

"I..." She dropped her hand on Rosalina's arm with a sigh. "I was going to use my own powers to find out what has happened to her, but I'm afraid I already know what ails her and I-I can't do anything."

"Are you talking about the mental block you had placed in her?" It was the only reasonable explanation as to why Rosalina was in this state. "Has it deteriorated that much for her to be pain from it?"

"Yes, I did warn you that it lasted for a short time, and I've no doubt that a great deal of happier memories were made during that time frame but her trauma is... far more overwhelming than I had initially perceived."

"Then...?" I trailed off, afraid of the answer I might receive.

"There is a chance she may not ever wake up from this state."

...

No...

"Are you absolutely sure that there's nothing that can be done?" I demanded, but it came out more as a plea. "Katianna, there has to be something, anything!"

She was silent and I despaired at the lack of response I was receiving.

"...We have one option, but it is dangerous." She looked at me intensely from beneath her hood. "There is a chance she may die from it."

I hesitated, looking down at Rosalina. "What can we do?"

If there was a chance Rosalina could die in our attempts at saving her from her own mind then I'm not so sure we should risk it, but looking at her state... I'm not sure about leaving her like this either.

...Consequences be damned, I'll do everything within my power to bring her salvation.

"We're going to have to delve into her mind."

* * *

 **AN: Quality's a bit different here, huh?**

 **Yeah yeah, don't need to remind me how long it's been since I've posted the last chapter, go ahead and throw every lethal object you've got at me.**

 **I want to say I was busy, but that'd mostly be a lie. I've been holding off on working on this because between the last chapter and now I had moved, dealt with school, and then got a writer's block. I forgot how I had the characters I've made act, but I suppose as I continue this story - if I can - I'll get my spark back.**

 **For now, I'll give a little bit of extra.**

* * *

 **(Rosalina's Mind)  
(?)**

Blue eyes blinked opened in confusion, then widened fear.

Rosalina saw herself surrounded by _nothing_.

"H-Hello...?" She received no answer, and she let out a small whimper.

There was no sky, no ground, just a murky black and gray abyss that waxed and wane in and around her.

However, disfigured hands broke through the abyss, horrible grotesque entities that leered at her with every conceivable and inconceivable emotion.

She wanted to scream, but found that she had no voice to do so, and the abyss became a wave that swallowed and drowned her underneath its tide. The daemons, imaginary or not, circled around and taunted her as they closed in before they too disappeared in the growing darkness.

The abyss spat her out, her clothes shredded to practically nothing but scraps.

This time her surroundings were not nothing, but the ruins of a city, and she despaired as everywhere she looked she saw the bodies of men, women, and children. The more she looked, the more familiar the faces became and she released a choked sob as she saw those she loved.

She collapsed, and wept openly, surrounded by nothing but death she could only despair.

" _Please..._ " She whispered, her hand reaching forward and stroking the face of a decapitated Raphael. " _Someone... help me..._ "


End file.
